Finality
by fickshonal
Summary: Bella learns of a vampire with questionable morals. Edward learns of another love of Bella's. Their passion is rising drastically, but can the lion and the lamb dance around death any longer, or is the grim reaper just around the corner?
1. Kisses

Chapter One: Finality

**_Disclaimer: I most certainly don't have the privilege of owning Mrs. Stephenie Meyer's imagination; so therefore, I unfortunately am not responsible for the greatest masterpiece in the world, the fantastic (dun dun dun) Twilight. I do however, own my own thoughts, and this fanfic is a creation of my twisted mind. The characters, names, etc. relating to Twilight do belong to Mrs. Meyer; I just made a new plot. Hope you enjoy!_**

**_A/N: "Finality" is just something I did for fun, while I'm waiting for my really long story to come to me. I'll have the chapters up for my other story in a matter of time. This is mainly to get rid of writer's block. Please, _**please**_, read and review. It's really important to me. This is my first fanfic, but please _**don't**_ go easy. Tell me what you really think, and if I get a lot of positive reviews, I may turn this into a longer story. You can already expect at least five chapters right now. This story's fate is in your hands…_**

Chapter One:

Edward was lying next to me on my bed; both of us were on our sides, facing my window. Just listening to the rain and wind pound on the roof. He had his right arm draped over my waist, pulling me close to him. His left arm was under my head, acting as a second pillow. It was already 1:18 in the morning, but since it was summer break, he didn't try to get me to go to sleep at a respectable time.

"Edward?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly.

"Yes?" his voice was smooth, but I could tell he was anxious. He knew well enough to know that when my voice is shaky, I am scared, hesitant, or uncomfortable. This time, though, it was all three.

"Don't get upset…but what do you think I would be like… if I was a vampire? I mean, like what do you think my… abilities would be... and what would I look like?" I was talking in a hurried voice, trying to calm down. I was scared that he would get upset I was bringing up my wanting to be a vampire.

"Well…" he was taken aback by my question, and I could feel him tighten his hold on my waist out of habit. I turned over in his arms to look into those beautiful topaz eyes. Luckily for me, he wasn't angry, I could tell by his relaxed muscles and unclenched jawbone.

"I think you would look mostly the same, but your features would be more enhanced. Your senses would definitely be stronger. Just think, if I already allure you with my scent, just imagine how allured you would be if your sense of smell was stronger," he chuckled at something, and I squirmed, bringing him back to reality. "If you think Rosalie is beautiful, just imagine how you would look. And, you would be _nice_.

"As for your abilities, I have no idea. There is so much about you that could be enhanced. You would definitely be clumsy, I know that for a fact, but still graceful. Other than that, I am at a loss as to what to think," he chuckled again.

"Rosalie _is_ nice," I retorted. He gave me a look of pure and utter astonishment, I knew what he would say, but I cut him off before he could speak. "I know she's been mean to me, but she is still nice. Not liking me doesn't make her mean."

"Yes it does, anybody who doesn't like you isn't right in the head, and Rosalie is included in that," he said, kissing me where my jaw meets my ear.

"Whatever, back to how I would be as a vampire. So I would be pretty?" I asked before I could stop myself. Now he was angry, I could tell by how his eyes seemed to get dark.

"Bella, no, you wouldn't be pretty. You would be even more astonishing than you are now. How could you think you are not pretty? I really do think you need to look properly in the mirror next time you need a human moment," he growled.

"I never said I didn't think I was pretty," no, I might not of said that, but I did think it. "And why are you angry?" I asked bewildered.

"Because you seriously think you are not pretty. And no you didn't say that flat out, but I can read your face, that is what you think," he whispered back, rolling his eyes. I was about to protest and he could see that, so he continued. "Bella, I think you are the most beautiful person in the world, humans and nonhumans alike. I have never encountered someone with as much beauty as you have, you are beautiful both inside and out," he concluded, leaving me with tears in my eyes. No one had ever said that to me before. He could sense I was crying, and he took his arm away from my waist, turned me on my back and climbed on top of me. He now got used to staying with me with his shirt off, and I would sleep in a tiny tank top, so that when I would get panicky or frightened, or just out of character, he would calm me down, the most effective way he knew how. Whenever our skin touched, a wave of some alien feeling coursed through my veins, and I was instantly calm and back to my self.

"Thank you," I said with feeling, "not only for calming me down, but for everything else. For loving me, for thinking I'm pretty, for staying with me, for wanting me, for everything. Just thanks," and with that, I wrapped my arms around his neck, and pulled his face down towards mine, and kissed him, fiercely and gently at the same time. His icy lips against mine sent my heart sputtering hyperactively. I felt a smile creep onto his face. Of course he knew when I reacted to his touch, and today was no exception. Then his lips were back against mine.

After about two or three minutes of only getting air when he parted out lips, I had to really part them, so I could get a real intake of life-sustaining oxygen. He smiled again. I forgot that he didn't actually need to breathe.

"Hey, it's not my fault that I have to breath. It's just one of my many flaws. But you know that you love me anyway," I offered him a seductive smile. It seemed to work.

"Of course, like I said anyone would be mad to not like you, and if anybody didn't love you, well, I don't think they would live for much longer- not if they're that stupid. But, for the record, I would inflict more pain than anyone can even dream of to any person who so stupidly tries to take you away from me, or vice versa," he smiled again, this time at the thought of hurting someone for trying to tear us apart. And then his lips were on mine again.

He mustn't have wanted this one to end as quickly, so every few seconds he would blow into my mouth, so that we didn't have to stop to satisfy my human frailties.

Literally ten minutes later we stopped, probably because it was getting a little too heavy. When we stopped, I blushed at where our hands had ended up during the heavenly moment. My left hand had reached down to his butt, clutching his waist to mine. His left hand was similarly positioned on my butt. Only then did I realize how our pelvic bones were crushing against one another. My right hand had entwined itself in his hair, and his was positioned where my neck meets my head, and was bringing my face towards his.

He then realized why I had blushed- and if he could, he most likely would've blushed along with me. "I'm sorry," he whispered, and tried to disengage himself from me. He no doubt would've succeeded if he wasn't shocked when I tightened my grip, whispered, "Don't be," and reached up and kissed him again. He didn't hold back, he kissed me just as passionately as before, and our hands were in the same places once again.

When we resurfaced, we really did stop. He climbed off of me and smiled. I smiled back, and twisted our hands together.

"Was that hard for you?" I asked, when I noticed his body become tense. "If it was, tell me, so I know not to do it again," I grimaced at the thought of never being able to do that again.

"Yes, it was hard, but I don't want to not ever do it again," he whispered, and to my delight he climbed back on me.

Not even a minute later, he groaned, and was lying by my side yet again.

"What's wrong?" I asked, seriously confused. I didn't understand, I thought we were doing just fine.

"Nothing really, it's just hard, knowing that we can't go any further," his voice was pained, and when I looked at his face, I nearly cried again - his eyes were wide, his face was full of sadness and disappointment.

"It's ok. For now, this will have to work. Now come back, I'm not done with you yet," I smiled, even though on the inside, I wasn't happy at all- if he would just change me, then we could go as far as we wanted to.

And with that, he smiled apologetically and climbed back on me for the third time.

"I love you," he whispered passionately, before our lips were glued to each other in passion and lust.

**_Well, what did you all think? Please R&R. If you liked it, let me know, and if you want to see more, definitely let me know. That's all I got for ya'll now. Thanks for taking time to read _**"Finality"**_ and tell me what you think. _**

Keithlee

A.K.A fickshonal


	2. Water

Chapter Two: Finality

**_Disclaimer: I most certainly don't have the privilege of owning Mrs. Stephenie Meyer's imagination; so therefore, I unfortunately am not responsible for the greatest masterpiece in the world, the fantastic (dun dun dun) Twilight. I do however, own my own thoughts, and this fanfic is a creation of my twisted mind. The characters, names, etc. relating to Twilight do belong to Mrs. Meyer; I just made a new plot. Hope you enjoy!_**

**_A/N: "Finality" is just something I did for fun, while I'm waiting for my really long story to come to me. I'll have the chapters up for my other story in a matter of time. This is mainly to get rid of writer's block. Please, _**please**_, read and review. It's really important to me. This is my first fanfic, but please _**don't**_ go easy. Tell me what you really think, and if I get a lot of positive reviews, I may turn this into a longer story. You can already expect at least five chapters right now. This story's fate is in your hands…_**

Chapter Two:

"Hey Bella, what did you two do all weekend?" that was Alice; she was in her room, standing in front of her floor length mirror, playing with her hair.

"Oh, you know, just hung out," Edward replied with a grin, and then he led me to his room.

"Ok, so I thought about what we should do today," he said, once we were sitting comfortably on his couch, my legs blanketed over his lap, my head resting on his shoulder.

"And did you come up with anything?" I asked, peering into his eyes. When he diverted his look, he confirmed that he hadn't thought of anything to do. "Okay, well, how about we watch a few movies? You guys have to have something here."

He just shook his head. I huffed, and then we sat in silence, contemplating.

"Well, why don't we go for a walk in the woods? It's only slightly raining, really light. And with all the trees and shrubs, we won't get too wet, maybe we'll find something cool like our clearing," I suggested, and when he smiled, I got up, but he quickly grabbed my waist and pulled me down on his lap. He gave a light kiss on the forehead and then buried his head in the hollow in my shoulder. Breathing in my scent, I guessed.

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I put on one of his shirts, because I was in a tank top. The temperature was actually nice outside today. It was about sixty five, maybe seventy. I had a drawer full of clothes in his room, but we both decided that I should wear one of his shirts. They looked good on me and they smelled just like him.

"So, do you know your way around here?" I asked, once we were a few feet into his backyard woods.

"Some parts of it, but I figured we could just go somewhere new, somewhere neither of us have been before. I've never gone this way," he jutted his hand to the left.

"Well, let's go then," and I walked ahead of him, eager to find a nice little place just for us. He was obviously taken aback by my sudden leadership, but he just smiled, grabbed my right hand, and followed my pursuit into the trees.

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We were only walking for about an hour and a half when the rain started to pick up. Then we heard thunder, followed by a crack of light striking the sky. I asked Edward if we had to turn around, but he simply replied, "Only if you want to, I don't think we will get struck by lightning," he smiled, but I saw his eyes consider that for a brief moment.

So I kept walking. I had grown pretty accustomed to nature during my stay in Forks. Almost to the point where I would rather spend more time in the outdoors than in a dry, warm house. Almost. I liked the idea of going out every once in a while, but I don't think it could become a daily thing for me.

Another boom and crack of light occurred around us, the storm picking up drastically.

I just looked up, and let the rain hit my face. Edward seemed to sense that I was enjoying myself, so he let me get soaked. After a few minutes, he also lifted his head to the downpour of water, and his beautiful face become drenched. I couldn't help but stare as the lightning reflected on the droplets of rain, illuminating every curve and dip of his nose, the perfect lines of his mouth, the way his topaz eyes lit up and lightened in color.

He noticed my wide eyes, and gave me that heart stopping grin he knew could make my whole body weaker than a piece of blank paper. I smiled back, and then we both sat down on the sodden earth.

"We should do this more often, I kind of like it," Edward said, and then he pulled me onto his lap and we just sat, getting wetter than wet - enjoying life.

Only when I started to cough and shiver did Edward insist that we go back.

"Come on, Bella. We don't want you to get sick. Besides, it's getting late, and I told Esme that we would be back in a few hours. We've been out here for… four hours and twenty-six minutes," he chuckled when he saw my jaw drop. Had we really been out here that long?

"Fine, let's go…um, Edward, do you remember which way is home?" I asked, starting to panic, everything looked the same to me now. Every tree was big, brown, damp and groaning in protest to the lightning.

"Silly, Bella. Of course I know which way is home. Even if I _wasn't_ paying attention, I could still find it. Okay, now hop on," he said, looking at me, a twisted smile trying to abduct his face. He struggled to fight it back. When I didn't make any move towards getting on, he rolled his eyes, and slung me on his back, grasping my arms and tightening my legs around his lower waist.

"Edward, I really don't want to run. Can't we please, please just go the normal, human way?" I pleaded, my voice cracking.

"Well, I'm not human, so it's not normal to me, and you aren't really running. So… no, and plus, if we walked all the way back to my house, you would be sure to get pneumonia. And I would beat myself up if I got you sick. Do you want that?" he asked, and when I sighed, he knew he won. But I wasn't going to give up that easy.

"I would honestly rather get sick than clutch to you while you run amok in the wilderness." Okay, so maybe I was exaggerating a little, but I was trying to make a point. He laughed at me, and then took off, first making sure my eyes were closed.

I felt the warmth on my face before he told me that I could climb down. Like always, I needed help detaching myself from his body. He swung me around and then carried me upstairs, smiling when I tried to squirm and fidget my way out of his hold.

"I hate when you won't let me walk myself around. I am perfectly capable, you know," I said, when we were on his black leather couch. I, again, blanketed his lap with my legs, and lay my head on his shoulder. He then set his head on top of mine, and we sat there, soaking wet, probably ruining his couch. He didn't seem to care though.

And then I coughed. He stared at me, looking somewhat upset, but his eyes had a told-you-so look in them that made me scowl.

"I'm not sick, I'm just clearing my throat," I lied, knowing perfectly well that I was coming down with something. After all, the room was spinning slightly and I could barely smell his delicious scent. He stared at me disbelievingly, and then called Alice in here.

"Do you mind if Bella takes a bath in your tub, she needs the warmth and relaxation," he asked when she was standing in the doorway. She looked puzzled, but nodded happily.

"Yeah, that's fine. Jasper and I are going out for a little while anyway, and Rose and Emmett went somewhere… and I'm not sure where. Esme's planning on going down to the hospital in a few minutes. But, I guess you already knew that. So yeah, help yourself," she said, and then closed the door behind her. She must have thought something odd, because Edward tensed a little, and a frown threatened to impose on his angelic face.

"What's wrong?" I asked when he didn't relax.

"Oh, nothing. Go and get ready, I'll get you some towels," he said, and then got up gently, so as to not jerk my body too much. And then he was down the hall, quietly calling Alice's name.

I went into Alice and Jasper's room. They had a bed in there, it was huge, a California King, and there was also a huge mirror, dresser, stereo system, and a few other things that looked like they would be in any human's room. I was too exited about taking a hot bath to really take into notice the normality of it all.

I stripped off my clothes in Alice's huge bathroom - it was seriously bigger than my bedroom. Once I had the hot water running, I poured in a few vanilla bubbles I found under the long vanity.

Once I was naked and the water was hot and bubbly and just under the rim, I climbed in and let out a sigh. The minute the steamy water hit my muscles, I could feel my body relax and stretch out. I could also smell the vanilla now, with the steam rising and filling the bathroom.

I nearly jumped out of the bathtub when someone knocked on the door.

"Yes?" my voice was light and airy, and somewhat shaky.

"May I come in, I have your towels?" it was Edward, I could tell he smiling at the fact that he had yet again caught my by surprise.

"Sure, if you want, but it's hot in here," I warned. I wasn't really sure if I wanted him to come in. I know that when I see his face, I will want him to come and join me, but then he might be too tempted. But when he entered, I don't think he needed an invitation.

After he set two towels on a clear spot on the vanity, he came over and sat down on a small wooden chair next to the tub.

He just looked at me, and then I blushed, realizing that the only thing keeping his eyes from seeing me completely naked was bubbly water.

He sensed my embarrassment, and said, "Don't worry, I won't look at you like that," he said, and then his smile faded and he became solemn.

"Okay," my voice was hesitant. Why was he sad? And then the question came out before my conscious could catch up with me. "Would you like to join me?"

His head snapped up to meet my eyes, and he smiled, thankfully. "Yes, I think I would," and then he jumped in the tub, fully clothed, getting wet and bubbly, but he didn't care too much.

"Edward!" my voice was shrill, and exasperated.

"What? You asked if I wanted to join you," he pointed out.

"Yes, but I didn't think you would get in fully clothed," I said, speaking my thoughts.

"Bella, you know I couldn't get in any other way, one of us would end up dead if I did that, and I'm not sure which one that would be," he was edgy.

I let it go, and then pulled him towards me to give his perfect lips a kiss. His arms wrapped around my back, he was leaning over me, and then my hands twined themselves around his neck.

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A/N: Hi everyone, well what did you think? So far this story is fluffy, but it will get more complex. I promise. As for my last chapter, I apologize to everyone who read it, I'm very sorry for all the words that were bunched together. I will try to fix that this time. Please R&R. All my previous reviews made me smile, and I almost cried when I saw that I was on someone's favorite author's list. But I think that's all. So, hope you enjoyed, and I will update soon, I promise.


	3. Alice's Vision

**Chapter Three: Finality**

**_Disclaimer: I most certainly don't have the privilege of owning Mrs. Stephenie Meyer's imagination; so therefore, I unfortunately am not responsible for the greatest masterpiece in the world, the fantastic (dun dun dun) Twilight. I do however, own my own thoughts, and this fanfic is a creation of my twisted mind. The characters, plot, etc. do belong to Mrs. Meyer; I just made a spin on it. Hope you enjoy!_**

_**Author's note: This chapter will be very short, so I apologize in advance. This chapter is Alice's vision and switches POVs from her's to Bella's. I apologize, because I hate it when authors switch the point of view in mid story, but I have to in order for everything to make sense, so hopefully you will forgive me. The fourth chapter will be up soon, so don't fret, and don't forget,** this story's fate rests in your hands…_

Chapter Three: Finality

**Alice's Pov**

_Alexander was in front of some weird restaurant with a huge cow mascot. There were a lot of other people around, and he was just looking at something in the opposite direction of my questioning eyes. Bella was sitting down, putting salad in her mouth, drinking some liquid from a colorful plastic cup. Then she noticed my tense body and uninterested gaze. She followed my eyes and then gasped. Her whole body became rigid and she asked me if "it was him" and I just simply nodded, and she began to gather her almost untouched food and went to throw it away. Then she came back and picked up some of our bags. I just choked, regained my physique, and then took over three fourths of the bags. She looked disappointed in her own weakness, but followed me out of the food court, towards the Mercedes. _

_In the next instant we were driving, and then everything faded out… _

_-------------_

**Bella's Pov**

"Alice!" I yelled. She was gripping her mirror, her stance looked weak, as if she might fall down without the support, but I knew she was either having a vision, or was contemplating a vision she just saw. She didn't answer me, but her eyes turned to me, they weren't scared, angry, harsh, or even sad, they were curious. Hopefully her vision was a good one, or at least, not a bad one.

"Oh, Bella, why are you here?" I should've been taken aback, but I knew what she meant. Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and Esme were all out hunting. Just Rosalie, Carlisle and Alice stayed home.

"Well, I came to see you. I knew you would be home alone, with everyone out hunting and Carlisle at the hospital and Rosalie admiring herself in the mirror. I can come back, if you're busy," I made my way towards the door.

Alice had regained her… _Aliceness. _"No, of course not, stay. Just let me go get the chair out of the bathroom…" and with that she fluttered off to her huge bathroom.

"So, what's up? Sit down, Bella, why are you so antsy?" her voice was just like it always was, high, like a soprano, and always ready to break into a song. I obeyed, and somewhat ignored her question.

"Alice, what was your vision about?" I decided to just flat out ask, no sugarcoating or bush beating.

"Bella, I'm not sure if you would understand, it's complicated," her voice rang with honesty and kindness.

"Alice, come on, does it pertain to me?" I asked, and when her face contorted to anxiety for a brief moment, I could tell I had hit home.

"Bella, I just don't want to freak you out. Yes, it was somewhat about you, but all you were doing was stuffing salad in your mouth," she chuckled, and I couldn't stop the smile that crept onto my formerly straight lips.

"Alice. Alice!" I exclaimed when she looked away from my expectant eyes.

"Fine, Bella, just don't blame me when you are disappointed. Okay?" she asked, with a smug look on her face. I just nodded and she started talking.

"Ok, basically…" she continued on with her explanation and ignored my different facial expressions.

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A/N – Okay, so sorry about the length of it. I really didn't mean to make it so short, but I had to stop there or else the chapter would've seriously been longer than… well, something, I just can't think of what to say. But, I hope you liked it, and please R&R. No matter what you think. Thanks so much to all my reviewers and fans. The next chapter will be up soon, I promise, I'm already working on it. Bye everyone.

P.S. (I do realize that this chapter wasn't very good, but it had to be done. So, sorry again.)


	4. Apologies, Anger, and Agitation

Author's note: I am so sorry for how long it took me to get this chapter up. I know it's been weeks. And I can't apologize enough without putting my own book out. And since that is never going to happen, I hope you all with accept my heartfelt apology. Thanks to all my reviewers. I cried when I got some of them. And thanks to those of you who sent me personal messages. That really made my day. Especially since I've had a lot of bad ones in the past few weeks. So thanks again. Now onto the story…

Disclaimer: I most certainly don't have the privilege of owning Mrs. Stephenie Meyer's imagination; so therefore, I unfortunately am not responsible for the greatest masterpiece in the world, the fantastic (dun dun dun) Twilight. I do however, own my own thoughts, and this fanfic is a creation of my twisted mind. The characters, plot, etc. _do_ belong to Mrs. Meyer; I just made a spin on it. Hope you enjoy! (By the way, Alexander is all mine, so don't even think about it…) The fate of this story rests in your hands…

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**Chapter One**

"Bella, are you alright?" Dr. Cullen asked me, absentmindedly when he noticed I was sitting on the couch, without Edward by my side.

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for Edward. I've have no idea what he's doing," I noticed a small, but heavy looking backpack slung over Carlisle's muscled back. "Hunting?"

He just nodded, about to say something, but Edward was suddenly at my side.

"See you and Rosalie in a few days," he called once he sat next to me. The doctor just waved, Rosalie flanked his side, similarly equipped, and they were out the door in an instant too fast.

Edward pulled me onto his lap, with no effort on my part, and drew me close.

"So, what are we doing today?" I asked, leaning in towards him. After a short minute passed – where my lips were pressed hard against his – he could answer.

"I don't know. That depends on how the weather's going to be today?" he said it as a question, and the answer came almost immediately.

Alice was in front of us; her black, spiky hair was perfectly knotted into a disgustingly pretty disarray on top of her head. Her outfit was also perfect – big surprise there. She was wearing faded jeans that hugged her body perfectly, and her shirt was a pretty teal sweater with a collar that folded over to look like a triangle, and gray Chucks. She fluidly sat down in the middle of the room, making my whole body ache with jealousy. Just seeing her stand still is torture, she's so graceful. "It's going to be sunless, about seventy-four, mostly dry, with just a hint at a thunderstorm, but absolutely no rain today," she answered, sounding more like a meteorologist than old Steve at channel 8. "Perfect time for shopping?" she asked me. As if I was borrowing Edward's extra mind reading sense, I could just tell he was thinking: _Any day is a perfect shopping day for dear Alice. _There was a look of complete shock on my face, what about her vision?

Edward pulled me closer than I thought was possible – since I was already chained to his strong, muscular chest by his arms.

"But I wanted her today," his face was sulky, but his eyes were dangerously playful.

"Bella and I both need new shoes, I want to get some new clothes… and I saw a surprise I think Bella might enjoy…" a devious smile played against her face, and I gulped. She ignored me, and looked at Edward, with a smug look on her face.

"My shoes are just fine," I protested, looking at my battered, worn down sneakers. She snorted, and was about to say something more, but I wasn't finished. "And you don't need to buy me anything else!" I said firmly, thinking about all the new things she bought me: a new wardrobe, a new stereo system, my new collection of Victoria's Secret bras and panties, my new CD collection…

"Fine, you guys go, but be back soon. I just thought of something Bella and I could do later," he interrupted my thoughts, and spoke with a disturbing gleam in his eyes. I stared at him, disbelief coloring my face – Edward usually gets what he wants, and today, I don't think, is any exception. Alice's thoughts must have been extremely convincing. I wonder what it is that she wants to get for me. I hope it's nothing embarrassing, but knowing Alice, it most likely was.

"Great! Let's go, Bella, before he changes his mind." Alice grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs to her empty room – Jasper and Emmett were out racing or hunting or playing tag, I don't know, something of the sort. She always needed to change her outfit – and sometimes mine – before we even think about going out somewhere.

She ended up in a long pair of black pants with metal rings going down the outer sides of your legs that fit her figure perfectly. Her dark red shirt was long-sleeved so it covered up the snowy skin on her arms, with lace at the top, and a neck that plunged downwards to show off her cleavage. Her shoes were plain black converse high tops, which I got her addicted to. I was tired of always seeing her in designer shoes, so I made her buy some Chucks.

"Now, what to do with you?" she asked, more to herself than to me. Some familiarly peculiar expression lit her face and she rushed off to her closet. Two minutes later, she came back with a short blue jean skirt, black V-neck spaghetti strap tank, and a see through pale pink garment that goes over the tank top.

"Alice!" I exclaimed, fear polluting my facial features. "I can't wear that. You're like, three sizes smaller than me!" I cried, wondering why she tormented me like this. Her body was a perfect hour glass, almost like a fairy, and her black, spiky hair contrasted with her skin so beautifully, I always take a few hits on my self esteem just looking at her.

"It's not my size. Yesterday I went shopping, and I got some clothes for you to keep here, since you never wear anything that shows off your figure," she stated matter-of-factly, ignoring my dark glares.

I was about to protest, but she was already at my side, pulling my shirt off, over my head, and onto the floor. I quickly stripped off my jean shorts and let them crumple into a blue heap on the floor next to my shirt. It was actually above sixty-five today in forks, but, luckily, not sunny.

Once I was dressed, I was about to ask about shoes, but Alice had a cut pair of strappy sandals at my feet.

"You look great," Alice commented, looking my over, admiring, I'm sure, her nice work. I really didn't look half bad, the clothes fit nicely. Alice never seemed to get tired of dressing me up.

When we got downstairs, I expected it to be empty. I thought Edward would've found something else to do, or maybe go out and join Jasper and Emmett with whatever it was they were doing. But, of course, Edward didn't move so much as a centimeter. He had obviously been looking at Alice's mind; he didn't seem too disturbed by my new outfit.

"Well, make yourself useful Edward, what do you think?" Alice asked, modeling herself in a fashion that made me cringe with envy, but his eyes flickered to me, and stayed there.

He was at my side in an instant. "I think I want to come with you two." He pulled me recklessly close, tracing my spine with his long, icy fingers. "Someone might try to snatch her away from me," he smiled, but in his eyes I could see the hatred burning there. Apparently he took what he said a little too seriously. He looked me over closely. "It's not fair for you to look so… that… to look that…I mean…" he tried to find a word that wouldn't make me blush, I think.

"Sexy," he finally concluded – I was wrong. He was trying to make me blush. It worked. I looked away, my heart sputtering hyperactively when he pulled my face back to his. He bent his lips to mine, seeming to forget Alice completely.

"Fine, but you won't like sitting in dressing rooms all day. It'd be like your personal hell," she pointed out smugly. Her face, and wicked smile, told me that she like the thought of seeing him undergo that particular form of torture more that she should have.

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We were in Seattle in less than an hour; we were also in the Mercedes. Edward decided not to come. He didn't like the idea of sitting and waiting while Alice and I tried on clothes all afternoon.

Once we were at the mall, Alice dragged me off towards Victoria's Secret. I moaned in protest. Whenever we set foot in there, she always ends up buying me too many unnecessary things.

Once, she got me fifty four pairs of panties. I kept telling here that that was just too much. She didn't care one bit.

This time, however, I was even more frightened. She walked right to the lingerie section. I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

There were racks and racks of short dresses made of sheer materials. And if you were lucky enough to find one with straps, there were spaghetti straps. Very tiny spaghetti straps.

She picked out a dark red, lacy, strapless, loose, but disgustingly pretty piece. But, of course, one just wasn't enough for dear little Alice. She also got pink, black, and aqua pieces of the same style. Then she saw a new style. This one wasn't even long enough to cover up panties, if you're wearing any, that is. Like its fellow acquaintances, this one was made of lace, but thankfully, this one had straps, and it seemed a little bit snugger than the others. In this particular style, she picked out a black piece, a flowery-patterned one, and then a tri color number. The tri-colored was red, black and white, it was sort of striped, but with cut-out sections, reminding me of Alice's prom dress for last year.

When she saw the horror, pain, fear, anger, resentment, and shock that twisted my face into a disturbing mask, she just mailed, loaded me with the findings and pushed me through the aisles to the dressing rooms.

"You don't have to show me, but I am buying you at least three of them. So don't even try. And if you like all of them, they you get all of them," she spoke quickly and with a tone full of authority.

"Why? I don't need any of these!" I hissed, while slipping on one of the black numbers. Weirdly enough, I loved it. I felt pretty wearing it, but I didn't feel like Bella. Edward would like these, though.

And then it dawned on me. Of course. How could I be so stupid? These were for Edward, not me.

She didn't answer my question.

"Which ones have you tried on?" she asked, after a few minutes of silence on both our parts.

"All of them," I emerged from the cubicle. Her look made me answer the unsaid question.

"I like the red, black strapless, and the tri colored one," I sad smugly. Actually, I liked them all, but three was three too many. She huffed at my small choice, but seemed appeased that I was at least playing along.

Our next store was much better. This one was for her, not for me. She got a long, clingy black skirt; a white, light shirt with a beaded embroidery of a galloping horse; a yellow, long-sleeved, V-neck, mesh-like shirt with a beach print on the front; and then some more practical clothes: three pairs of jeans, five solid color long-sleeve sweaters. And, to my great pleasure, she got two more pairs of converse. I could feel a sly smile creep onto my face.

"Don't even say it," she warned, passing the cashier her foreign credit card. Apparently, she could read my face pretty well. I only smiled again and helped her with the bags.

"Where to now?" I asked, heaving a bag up onto my chest so I could walk and not waddle as I was doing previously.

"Well, it's a little before noon. You should eat soon or else Edward will have my neck when we get home. Are you hungry yet?"

Unfortunately for me, my stomach answered her question without consulting its faithful carrier. How could it betray me, I have known it for as long as I have been alive, and yet here it goes, embarrassing me in public, growling for nourishment. That must be how mothers feel when their eighteen year old son leaves home and doesn't give a care in the world how much they might be hurting their mothers. Ungrateful stomach. Ungrateful sons.

"I'll take that as a yes," she said smugly, trying – and failing – to hide a smile.

"Okay, what do you want?" there were a lot choices at the food court. Sonic, McDonalds, some weird Japanese place that I couldn't pronounce without sounding like a complete imbecile, a smoothie joint, and a few other choices. I finally decided on getting a salad and an orange juice from some "Pizza and Etcetera" venue near the Baskin Robins 31 Flavors creamery.

"That really doesn't look very appetizing," Alice commented, looking away from my food and my eyes. Near the Chick-Fil-A, her eyes narrowed and her body tensed. I looked in the same direction and gasped at what I saw.

"Is that him?" I asked, knowing full and well that was him. I just wanted to clarify, if in case I was in some twisted universe, where the world could be nice to me, just this once. She just nodded and I tried to relax my now tense body.

I gathered my food and dumped it in the nearest trash can. When I got back to the table, Alice was still staring, but she looked pained, like she was having a hard time breathing. She stood up with a deep breath, and picked up more than half the bags, I picked up the rest. I looked down at my feeble arms, wishing I had more strength.

"Bella, we have to go, now!" her voice was low, only a whisper, but I could feel the strange tension that coursed through her small being.

I nodded, situated my bags, and walked toward her. She waited patiently, but a quick glance at her face told me she was worried and anxious to get out of here.

Once we were in the Mercedes, Alice started the engine and sped faster out of the lot than I'd ever seen her drive. We were pushing one-o-five before I could even form a coherent question.

"Was that…"I asked again – the reason why is unknown to mankind – scrutinizing her eyes, taking in to notice her white knuckles gripping the steering wheel as if it may fly away if she didn't have a death hold on it.

"Yes, I don't know how I could have been so stupid. I mean, I knew the scene, the people, what you were wearing, doing, eating, everything. I don't know why I made you come. I should have told Edward when you wanted me to. I should have been more responsible, I could've been the cause of your death. Oh my God, I could've killed you!" she screamed, noticing her words. Then she kept ranting before I could interject. She could talk fast when she wanted to. "I pulled you away from Edward, I lied to him, no worse than that, I didn't have the chance to lie to him, because I never told him. He's going to kill me when we get home. I'm not going to say anything, I'll just think it. That's it, I'll think it. Bella, I'm so sorry, you have no idea how sorry I am. Bella, oh no, I'm sorry. Do you think you'll ever begin to think about forgiving me? No, don't answer that. You shouldn't forgive me. You shouldn't even have to look at me. Why am I so stupid?" she kept going on and on.

"Alice. Alice! Listen to me. Okay? Stop it right now. This isn't your fault. You didn't do this. I should have told Edward, but I didn't want to worry him, you said that Alexander wasn't supposed to be dangerous, and I didn't want another James accident, so I didn't tell him, when I should have. I'm sorry, Alice. Don't be mad at yourself. And no, I don't forgive you. You did nothing wrong for me to forgive, so don't even go think about going down that road. Okay? This isn't your fault. LISTEN TO ME!" I yelled, when she turned her head away from me again. Vampires can be stubborn. She seemed taken aback by my force and authority, but she smiled just the same, and gave me a quick hug, then returned her eyes to the road.

"I'm sorry, Bella, I didn't mean to go off like that. Thanks, but it's not your fault and it's not my fault. We probably could have prevented this, but then… Well, I don't know, but it will all be ok, I promise. We're almost home, anyway…" and she took a deep breath, then pulled onto their invisible drive. With one last glance towards me, she sighed, turned the key in the ignition to off, and sat there, in her seat, hoping that this was all just some twisted joke, and that Edward wouldn't be mad. Good luck with that, Alice.

"So… did you ever… tell Edward about your vision?" I asked her as casually as I could. We were both just sitting in the car; hoping time would just stop for a few moments. Neither of us wanted to deal with the anger that was soon to dilute the atmosphere once Edward found out about Alexander.

"Well, about that, Bella," she began, I could guess her answer; and I inwardly cursed myself for being so stupid. But, this wasn't Alice's fault, nope, not at all. It was mine. "I just couldn't bring myself to do that to him. He's tried so hard to forget about James, and I can't blame him, you have no idea how hard that was for him. But, he did it for you, in hopes that nothing like that would happen again. And now, here's Alexander, to spoil everything…" she trailed off, her body seeming to relax a little bit. Where was Edward, he would've usually been out here before the car had even stopped. Maybe he was just preoccupied. I hope.

"Well, Alice, I'm afraid I don't really understand what you mean," I said, lightly, still looking at the house. Her look was preoccupied with the forest, and she contemplated for a moment before answering.

"What I mean, Bella, is that…" she stopped all of a sudden, deciding to start over. "Ok, for any of this to make sense, you have to know what Edward was feeling when he left you with Jasper and me to hunt down James. Basically, ever since you and Edward have been together, you are what makes him live, or die, if you want to get technical. If you were to ever be hurt, or if someone even attempted to make you sneeze, Edward would lose his mind. I don't know if you can fully comprehend how much he loves you, but maybe you can, since I sense that you love him just as much. But with Edward, he really wouldn't be able to look at another leaf, or feel the rain again, or sit out in the sun in your meadow, or taste the blood that sustains him. He would be even more lifeless than he is now. Edward…well, he'd probably kill himself, which, as you know, isn't easy to do. That tells you how much he depends on you. If he were to never see you again, or even think that he'd never see you again, that would be worse than the fate that James met. I'm telling you all this because it plays into why I didn't want to tell Edward about Alexander being here. Does this make sense yet?" she asked, taking a much needed breath, on her part and on mine. When she saw me mulling things over in my head, she continued.

"If I had told Edward about my vision, then he would've lost it. He might've sent you away, even though Alexander is the most practiced vampire of our kind that I've ever met, except for Carlisle of course. If Edward had known about Alexander, then, to him, that is just another James accident. And he would've certainly killed Alexander or himself for that matter, trying to kill Alexander. It's really very complicated when it comes to you and Edward, so I didn't want to involve him this time. However, I shouldn't have been so stupid as to bring you to the mall. I don't know what I was thinking…" she trailed off, and I could tell she was going to start rambling again, so I stopped her.

"Okay, I understand now. Don't start to blame yourself again, Alice, that would just be a waste of your unnecessary breath. I think we should go inside now, I really want to see Edward," I said, and it was true. I was starting to feel that ache in my body, the one that reminds me I've been away from my angel of a boyfriend for too long.

She sighed. I could tell she was trying to drag out the moment. "Okay, fine, let's go." And with that, she opened her door, stepped out, really slowly, and then closed it even slower. I just rolled my eyes and followed suit, only going slow because I was a human, and I had an excuse to be classified with the turtle, and not the cheetah.

After what seems like hours, we opened the front door to the house, and stepped inside to be met by Jasper.

"What? I'm confused, you guys didn't buy anything?" Jasper's voice was shocked and his face was stunned when he saw our empty hands.

"No, what are you talking about? Of course we bought stuff. You can go out and get the bags if you want." Alice's voice was full of amusement. Jasper just chuckled and headed out to get our findings. Unsurprisingly, he got everything inside in just one trip, but I hardly noticed this as I saw Edward fuming towards us, speeding down the stairs, then the hall, and then stopped right in front of us.

"Did he see her?" His voice was a whisper, but it was lethal. Apparently he really does always focus on the mind of whoever is near or with me. Despite the circumstances, I was touched, but that quickly went away.

A few minutes passed of him whispering to Alice, and her answering with that peculiar mind of hers. And then Alice turned on her heel, and waltzed up the stairs, with Edward's eyes burning holes in her back. Once she was at the top, and out of eyesight, Edward stepped up to me and pulled me into the fiercest hug ever. I tried to pull back a little to look at his perfect eyes, but he wouldn't let me move as much as a millimeter from his strong body. I didn't mind though, I'd gotten quite used to his protective behavior, and I rather enjoyed the fact that I'd never have to worry about someone else hurting me, as long as our arms were wrapped around each other.

His mood instantly shifted as he bent his head to mine, and our lips locked in an unbreakable kiss. Our bodies clashed even closer together to the point where I could almost feel my bones cracking in my ribcage, but I didn't care, because my savior's arms were firmly shielding me from any pain, and from the cruel reality of life.

"Edward?" I asked with a jagged voice as I tried to suppress the desire to capture his lips with mine again.

"Hmm?" he whined, and tried to get our lips together again.

"What is so bad about this Alexander guy? I mean, Alice told me that he wasn't so bad. That he's the most practice of your kind, except for Carlisle, that is. If that's true, then why is he so bad?" I asked, hoping against hope that I wouldn't make him mad. He looked away, his face guarded and his eyes hard, he obviously didn't want to answer.

"Hey, look at me," I pulled his face back to mine and his expression, and eyes, lightened under my touch. "What's wrong?" other than the obvious of course.

"Nothing," he lied. I didn't believe him, but I let it go, we could and would talk about it tonight in bed.

"I love you," I reminded him, he looked down at me and then, in an instant too fast to be real, scooped me up in his arms and carried me up the stairs.

I protested the whole way to his room, but he just ignored me, tightening his grip when I tried to fidget or squirm.

"Returned." He replied when we were inside his room. He crossed over to his stereo, me still in his arms, and turned it on manually. Some 80's Hair band was playing at medium volume; I think it was maybe Skid Row. He apparently didn't feel like rocking out, so he changed the CD to some nice Bach.

Once he was satisfied with the music, he finally set me down. I was about to walk toward the huge window that covered the entire back side of the house, but Edward didn't like the idea of that. He grabbed my waist and drew me into his iron grip rubbing my back with his hands, and caressing my jawbone with those perfect lips of his.

I shivered and remembered what Alice had bought me. At the thought of him seeing me in that, my face flushed and he stopped. He looked down at my, puzzled by my embarrassment. I shook my head, hoping he would leave it alone, but of course, he didn't.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" he tried to back up a step, but I didn't want him to, so grabbed his hands. He could've easily broken my grip, but he seemed pleased by my reaction and came back to my body again.

"No, of course you didn't. I was just thinking…" I trailed off, and looked away from his beautiful topaz eyes.

"What?" he probed. I could see frustration crease his face at the fact that he still couldn't read my mind.

Of course, I made the mistake of looking up into those eyes that look like honey, and they were doing that unfair smoldering thing.

"I was just thinking about what Alice and I had bought," I gasped, my lungs crying at the loss of oxygen his eyes bring on. "I blushed, that's it, don't make this into a big deal," I pleaded, hoping he would listen to me. A disgusted look abducted my face, almost like a grimace, at the thought that there was absolutely nothing I could do to bridle my emotions.

After a few moments of trying – and not succeeding – to decipher my expression, Edward called out in a clear, but still soft voice. "Alice, could you bring me Bella's shopping bags?"

As Alice entered the room, she set the bags down by the door, shot me an evil smile, and then looked meaningfully at Edward. I couldn't even begin to think of what she was thinking; Edward just nodded and back to me.

I raised my eyebrows in puzzlement, but when he didn't respond, I gave up and hoped that he wouldn't go to the bags.

He broke my grip easily and then walked at a normal pace to the bags.

"No, don't pl-" I broke off when he picked up the red garment. His impish grim made me flush a deep ruby red, a color that I was sure was not known to man yet.

"Well, this'll be an interesting night," and he set the red lacy thing back in the bag. When he saw my red face, something flashed in his eyes, and he bent into a catlike crouch, his smile portraying the most seductive smile I've ever seen. I backed away from his stance, which took a tremendous amount of effort on my part, and I closed my eyes as he pounced on me and pulled me close to his body so that when we collide with the couch, I didn't feel a thing.

I fidgeted so that I was more on his lap, than on his chest. He just chuckled and rolled over in such a fast movement that I hadn't realized I was under him until he started kissing me. With all the strength I could muster, I wrapped my arms around him and pulled tightly, so that he was closer to me than actually possible. His lips parted gently and he pulled back a little, his breath blowing into my mouth. I couldn't think, talk, breath, move, none of those mobiles cam to me, and then after a moment too long, his perfect lips were against mine again.

And then, I feinted, or passed out if you want to get technical. His voice was alarmed and agonized when he spoke. "Bella, oh god, Bella, no, no, Bella!"

My eyes fluttered open at the sound of his pained voice. His face went from showing agony, to anger, and then to self-directed hatred.

In a moment too fast, he was off of me and on the floor, standing with his thumb and forefinger pushing against opposite sides of his eyebrows.

"Hey, come back," my voice was feeble, and my legs even more so. I would have collapsed if he hadn't caught me when I tried to bring him back to me.

His arms cradled me against his chest and he held me there, like an infant, for an immeasurable period of time.

"I can't believe I did that," his voice and face were agonized again, making my insides melt into a puddle at my feet.

"Did what? You and I didn't do anything," I said previous part in confusion, and the latter in disappointment. He looked at me questioningly.

"What we were just doing. I know it was just kissing, but it was about to progress to something more, and we can never, **_never_**, do that. Don't you understand, Bella? I don't want to hurt you, but I am a man, and for some reason, that red…thing…just awakened those desires that have been in my core for the past century." He burrowed his face in his beautiful hands after he set me down on solid floor.

"Well, then it did its job," I tried to lighten the mood.

"Look, Edward, just forget about hurting me physically, what about emotionally? Did you ever think about that? I want this just as bad as you do, probably more so even. So why can't we both have what we want. You do want this, right?" I tried to persuade him, and as I was talking, I slowly moved towards him, and wrapped his iron arms around me. I stood on my tiptoes; he knew what I wanted, but he wouldn't give it to me. Not yet at least. Instead, he moved his lips up and down my neck – from the hollow at the base of my neck, to my chin, and back again – until he decided to stop and lay his head on my chest.

He was listening to that cursed organ thumping in my body, wild enough to be committed.

"I'm not what you want," he muttered, ignoring the last and most important question. Then his face turned into a grimace at the thought that those words could hold truth. However, he composed his face quickly, I'm sure he didn't want me to notice, but I did, and I couldn't stop the chuckle that sneaked out. He glared at me.

"Edward, how many times do we have to go over this? There is no other person, thing, object, adjective, verb, adverb, plant, animal, electronic piece of equipment, drink, food, activity, whatever, you name it and I would give it up, if it meant that you and I will be together for an eternity full of love and passion, and jealous glares from any woman or homosexual man that looks at how lucky I am to have you. That is what I want. I want and need you. I need you to live, breath, think, smell, see, touch, feel, taste, love. If you aren't in my life, then that means I don't have a life. Why can't you wrap your mind around that? Do you love me as much as you say you do? Or is that all just some big joke for you until I die, and then you'll find someone else? I mean, will you not change me because you don't want to spend an eternity with me?" my voice was shrill by the end of my little speech. And I could feel myself hyperventilate at the thought that he would say no to my last inquisition.

"Don't you dare," his voice was dead cold, and I felt myself shrink back. His eyes turned blacker than I had ever seen them.

"Don't I dare do what?" I yelled at him.

"Never, NEVER, think I don't love you. NEVER think that I don't want to spend an eternity with you, and then some. NEVER think what you just said!" he growled, and there was no trace of a smile on his face, or even in his being for that matter. His voice was louder than that night in the Jeep, with Alice and Emmett.

I smiled internally, despite how angry I was at him, and him at me. I was about to reply, when his eyes turned even harder, and his face tensed more than it already was, to the point where if you were to poke his naturally firm cheek, you would've broken your finger. Before I could even work up the right amount of fear to show on my face, I found myself alone. He was down the hall, beating down Alice's door. When she opened, a little flustered, he grabbed her arm with enough force that even she looked pained, and raced down the stairs in a fast blur.

I was furious at this point. How could he say that, and then not let me respond. The anger that boiled its way up my body took over every emotion. I exited his room and walked down the hall towards the staircase.

Before I had even taken one step down the stairs, Edward was there, at the bottom. His face showed an emotion I had never seen on him before that particular moment in time. He was scared. Terrified, actually. Something in his face made me stop. I turned around on my heel, and half-ran back to his room, gently shutting the door behind me, before collapsing on the floor, sobbing broken tears.

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And that's it for now. I'm terribly sorry for how long it took me. But I think this chapter had to be done right. So, thanks for reading. And review, please. I love to hear from you guys, and I read every single one. I promise. Anyway, R&R. Byes for now. Oh yeah, sorry for any and all mistakes in this thing. Especially that first chapter.


	5. In His Arms and In Our Bed

_Disclaimer: I have no possession of Twilight. But, Alexander is mine._

_READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE PLEASE!_

_A/N: **Sorry it's taken so long to update. But this chapter should be pretty satiating. It's really fluffy at first, but then you get some questions answered and such. But, note that THERE IS SOME GRAPHIC CONTENT NEARING THE END OF THIS CHAPTER AND I DON'T WANT TO OFFEND ANYONE! I'm currently on the look out for a beta, and if you're interested, tell me in your review or send me an email or message. Byes for now. Don't forget to review. **_

Finality

Chapter 5

In His Arms and In Our Bed

Edward must have been downstairs for a long time. I woke up on the black leather couch; I was having horrible body spasms and shaking uncontrollably. Once my senses caught up with me, I realized I was freezing.

I sat up, but my head was spinning. Something or someone pushed me back down, and then something heavy covered my body protectively, keeping me warm and stopping all the involuntary body movements.

I tried to go back to sleep, my eyes closed, but I couldn't go back to unconsciousness. I opened my eyes again, but this time, I saw Edward leaning over me. I tried to push off the down comforter that was covering the length of my body.

He saw me try to get up, and he could see the questions burning in my eyes. He sad down next to me, and helped me with the cover. His face was solemn as he took my face in his massive, but gentle hands. If I didn't know better, I could've sworn I saw his eyes gloss over. Any previous fury or need to interrogate vanished. I leaned up towards him and took him in my arms. Usually he was the one comforting me, but now the tables had turned, and I didn't like it. Now I knew how he felt when he would see me cry, or hear me scream in agony or anger. I was no longer in the dark as to his reasons for keeping me human. Now I understood why he didn't want me to suffer the few days of pain. I might even be able to say that I had reconsidered. Almost.

Edward just sat there in my arms, wishing he could cry, so that his pain could be shown, and so that he could relieve himself of the unintentionally bottled up sadness and anger. It was the most bizarre thing I had ever seen. My beautiful boyfriend was in my arms, sobbing tearless cries, while the whole time, I could do nothing to comfort him.

After about ten minutes of him just clinging to me for support, and me holding his perfect head to my warm chest, he pulled out of my grip effortlessly. I simply gazed into his goldenrod eyes and searched for a meaning to the reason why the world had decided to cause him so much pain.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," he whispered. His eyes were burning with hatred, and I couldn't for the life of me understand why.

"Edward, what's going on? You're scaring me. And you would be crying if you could. I need to know what's wrong," my voice was a little harsher than I intended.

"Bella, I-" he stopped short, listening. Whether it was with his mind or his ears, or both, I couldn't know.

"I'll…I'll tell you later. I promise," and with that said, he then proceeded to throw me against the back of the couch, and sat in front of me. His face was grave and his eyes were deadly, now I understood why his family never dared to touch me, except for Alice, of course, she seems oblivious to Edward's ability to inflict so much pain that the devil himself would cry. Emmett and Jasper had no problem talking to me, laughing with me, all that jazz, but once, when I was joking around with Emmett, he touched my shoulder, and Edward went ballistic. He seriously threw Emmett across the room, and when everyone, including myself, asked him why, he just said he didn't like any man other than himself touching me, and left it at that.

I was trying to figure out why he was being so protective, when I barely heard a knock issued on the door.

Whoever was on the other side didn't wait for a response; they just opened the door with a flourish. It took all the self control I had to not gasp and then pass out at the sight before me.

Alexander was tall, with jet black hair that covered his mesmerizing golden eyes. His hair alone could land him a long-lasting career in modeling for a skate company, like DC, Hurley, or Vans. His facial features were beyond perfection, every curve of his lips was so acute, so perfect, even God had a run for his money. His lips were a pale rose color, and his skin, to my surprise, resembled mine, color wise at least, but his was flawless, with a marble like texture to it that resembled the Cullen's. The most captivating part of his appearance however, had to be his sheer size and build. He towered over me by at least two feet, and he was more muscular than any creature I had ever seen. He reminded me of a racehorse, solid muscle, speed unlike any other, and a face so gentle, he could turn married men gay, and any woman within twenty miles of him fall over dead. The only setback to him was his personality, which you could just tell was horrible. Even his voice sounded choked, like he would rather not talk to you at all, because he knows that there is no way you could ever be as good as him.

"Who's your friend, Edward?" his lips moved so fast it looked like they didn't move at all. Edward's only response was to snarl and lean closer to my petite frame.

When Alexander took a step towards us, with his beautiful eyes on me, Edward roared loudly, and then lunged at him, knocking him back.

I heard the most frightening sound ever then, Edward scream in pain as Alexander punched his stomach. Alexander just laughed at his horrible form of torture and then growled when Edward punched him in the face. I actually heard his nose crack at the impact of my angel's fist. When Alexander tried to walk over towards me, I heard Edward roar again and then pounce, with so much strength and hate, when the landed, there was a dent in the floor. I couldn't stand the screams and the growls and the snarls and the cracking any longer.

So I stupidly got up off the couch and walked over to them. Edward's eyes grew wide when he saw me coming and then they changed to a color I had never seen before. They were wide and a reddish brown, with specks of gold and black. He meant it as a warning, but then Alexander clawed at his face.

So I ignored him and approached Alexander, furious and loathing him for causing Edward and I this kind of pain. Edward, because he was being attacked, and me, because Edward was being attacked. Before I had even really thought about what I was doing, I kicked Alexander, hard, right in that off-limits spot. And then I grabbed a high heel that was on the floor next to me that Alice insists on buying, this one was a black and white polka dot stiletto. I held the foot base part of the right shoe, and then I proceeded to slam the pointy heel on Alexander's head. This time, I heard _him_ scream out in pain.

With that, Edward threw me against his wall, and I could tell it took everything he had to be gentle, not that he was mad at me, but he was mad, and that's all that counted. With me a few yards away, Edward grabbed Alexander's throat with one hand, and his lower arm with the other, and then my angel twisted and squeezed for a good five minutes, ignoring Alexander's screams of agony and tearless cries of pain.

Then Alice was by my side, and Emmett and Jasper were pulling my personal heaven away from my personal hell. I felt like my hatred toward Alexander alone should burn him to ashes. But of course, my hatred could do no such thing.

Alexander spoke for the second time. "All I wanted to do was come and see all of you," he growled, struggling against Jasper's grasp, "and maybe try to work things out between you and me," this was directed at my holy boyfriend. "And why are you all hiding this human from me? I've seen her, smelled her…" he trailed off, and could just guess what he was thinking because Edward's enraged snarl/growl filled the whole house and shook me to the core of my being.

"You'll never!" Edward shouted for the whole town, no state, no _continent _to hear. His face was furious, eyes black and it wasn't because he was thirsty.

Then Jasper came to everyone's aid, or at least mine, and a wave of contentedness and serenity washed over us and I relaxed in Alice's strong, comforting grip.

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Apparently, Jasper let out more lethargy than I thought. I woke up in Carlisle's office, sitting on Edward's lap; the whole Cullen household was in the small room. Even Rosalie. I wasn't sure why she and Carlisle were there. Weren't they supposed to be hunting? I let it go with a shrug. The whole room stilled and then seven eyes turned to me.

"Sorry," my mouth spoke without me telling it to. Edward just smiled, happy to see me awake. I returned the gesture, and tilted my head back so that it was resting on Edward's shoulder. When my eyes flickered to the rest of the family, I saw Alice looking at me with sadness in her eyes but a smile on her face. Emmett looked angry, and when he noticed me looking at him, he gentled his eyes and I knew why he was so mad. Emmett and I had gotten close. He was like my older brother. Protective at all times. Upset when I was hurt or sad. Happy when I was safe and happy. Jasper had a dulled look on his face, and he just sent out waves of relaxation. Carlisle and Esme were both looking at me, and they looked sad and upset, like there was a greater threat here than I could fathom. And most likely, there was. Rosalie was the worst to look at. Her eyes were dead black. There was no glint of gold or gray, no reflection of light on her pupils, nothing. Jet black. So, I'm guessing she was either mad or thirsty. But, knowing her, it was probably both. Lucky me.

"Bella, you have absolutely nothing to be sorry about. Unless you ever kick another man like that. If Alexander was human, he would no longer be able to reproduce, piss, and walk correctly. You have quite a powerful kick. Soccer teams would kill to have you," Emmett was trying to lighten the mood, but right when he mentioned Alexander, I felt Edward tense. When I tried to give Emmett a grateful smile, I noticed that he really wasn't just trying to lighten the mood; he was trying to calm me down. His eyes were still black, and his body still tense and ready to strike.

My eyes wandered over to the small window behind Carlisle's desk. I realized it was dark outside. That meant it was either late at night or early in the morning. Either one was bad news.

I sprang up from Edward's lap so fast, not even he was expecting it.

"What time is it?" I asked loudly, looking down at my watch. Great, it's 12:07 a.m. Charlie will have my neck. I was supposed to be home over an hour ago. "Oh no. I have to go. Charlie's going to kill me. My curfew is eleven. It's after twelve. Bye everyone. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Well, later today. You all know what I me-" I was cut off my Edward pressing one of his perfect fingers to my lips.

"Bella, sweetheart, calm down. Alice called Charlie, he knows you're here. He actually asked to talk to Carlisle to see if you could stay here for the next week and a half. Apparently, work is sending him away to New Mexico for a few days. Carlisle said yes, of course, is that okay?" he asked me gently, trying to calm me down, meanwhile opening his arms for me, implying I was more that welcome to come back to his body.

I smiled and went over to him. I sat down on his lap, my back facing everyone in the room. My legs wrapped around his waist, my hands found their place around his neck. I gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Of course that fine. It's better than fine. But where will I sleep?" I asked.

This time he smiled and gave me a kiss, but his wasn't on the cheek. He kissed me on my forehead, and then he proceeded to make a line down the side of my face and even go down my neck. He stopped when he reached my cleavage and then doubled back to meet my lips.

"Edward!" I hissed. His family was right behind us. Their gazes were all averted. Trying their best to give us privacy. My face was redder than red by the time he took the hint that he needed to stop.

He cleared is throat and then answered my previous question. "It's a surprise. You can go in my room and you'll see. I'll be there in a minute or two. Just let us finish this up quickly," he said. The whole time while he was speaking, Rosalie was shooting cold glares to everyone around the room. Even Emmett. I didn't even want to guess what was wrong with her. I looked at Edward with a devious grin, but he just shook his head.

"Go ahead, sweetheart. I'll be there in a second. I promise," I pouted again, but did as I was told.

I made my way up the stairs to Edward's room and opened the door. I gasped and had to catch myself before I fell over in shock. His shiny couch was now against the same wall as the door and his CDs were moved to the wall where the couch was once at. Then, in the middle of the room, there was a beautiful twin sized bed made of cherry wood with black accents. It was a four poster bed with a canopy of black lace hanging down the sides and the comforter was a deep red color with a similar lace trim. I secretly wondered why Edward would have gotten a twin sized bed, he was always complaining about how small mine was, but I decided to let it go.

I heard the door creak open behind me and I saw Edward poke his glorious head in. I smiled and he came in fully, closing the door behind him.

"Do you like it?" he asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting to make sure. His voice was right in my ear, his arms wrapping around me from behind. All I could do was nod and let him leave a trail of kisses on my neck, making me shiver.

"Do you want to go to sleep now?" he asked with, it seemed to me, hope in his voice. It took any and all of my self control to not roll my eyes at his silly inquiries.

"I want to lie down," I compromised. He chuckled to himself and walked behind me to the bed where I climbed on. He followed suit and wrapped his arms around me again. I turned so that I could look into his wonderful eyes and I got lost in the deep, inviting warmth of his gold orbs.

"Edward?"

"Yes, my love?"

"Why did you get such a small bed?" I could feel blush rise to my cheeks. "I mean, this one is even smaller than mine. In order for us both to comfortably fit on this thing, I would have to be on you or vice ver-" I cut off. I knew why he wanted such a small bed. I saw him smile and then he flattened himself. I climbed on him willingly, and then lay my head in the crook of his neck.

"Oh, crap. Edward, I don't have any clothes to change into. And I really don't think that sleeping in my skirt and tank top would be that comfortable," I said, raising my head a little when I heard him laugh at my statement.

"Well, could give you one of my shirts to sleep in. They'd be pretty long on you. Would you like that?" he asked me.

"That would be great," I mumbled against his cool skin. But when he made a motion to get me the article of clothing at that instant in time, I stopped him with my lips. "Just, don't get it right now."

He smiled at my childlike voice and kissed me back, parting our lips slightly, just enough for me to breathe, and then he lightly stuck his tongue into my mouth and I did the most impractical thing. I frenched him back, and ran my tongue lightly against his razor sharp teeth. I took in the captivating taste of his mouth and I never wanted to leave, but I had to, because I could feel his body tense underneath me.

"I'm sorry. Did I go too far?" I tried with no success to lean back from him a bit so that he could clear his head and his senses and his overpowering urge to drink my pulsing blood.

"Don't even think about it. You didn't go too far, but I heard Alice think something and it startled me. I'm very sorry. Now where were we?" he tried to kiss me again, but now he intrigued me.

"What was she thinking?" my lips barely murmured. They wanted so badly to return to his perfectly sculpted lips that I was having such a hard time fighting. So I gave in. I pressed my starving lips to his, and they immediately parted, wanting to return to the previous method of kissing.

After about three tries, he finally pried our lips apart from each other to answer. "She had a vision of what we were doing earlier, you know, the kiss, and then she wondered if… if…" he trailed off, clearly not wanting to answer.

"If what?" I pried, trying to make him spill.

"If I we were g-going to h-have…" he really didn't want to answer.

"Have what?" why wouldn't he just spit it out?

"Sex," he concluded, and he his face with his hands.

"Bu-but why would she think something like that? You said that you and I, we can't…we can't have…we can never do… that," I stammered.

"Just forget about it," he said, and I felt like he was hiding something important from me. I uncovered his glorious face and made him look me directly in the eyes.

"That's what you said. Were you lying?" I asked, sudden understanding dawning on me. "You were. You said that while I remained human, that you and I could never be that close. I can't believer you did that!" I shouted in a whisper. I tried to get away from him, but he wouldn't let me go. "Let me go Edward. I'm upset right now, and I don't want to say something to you that I might regret."

"Bella, will you listen to me?" he pleaded, but when I didn't stop trying to disentangle myself from his body, he continued in a voice that could melt Antarctica.

"No, Bella, I did not lie to you. I said that it would be too hard for us to be together like that. That I could mean to reach out and touch your cheek, but result in crushing your skull. I didn't lie to you about that. And as long as you are human, which will be for a very, **very**, long time I might add, you and I couldn't ever be that intimate for I might loose control and hurt you. I don't want to do that. You and I having sex isn't worth that risk. Not now, not ever," he concluded, trying, I could see, to calm me down and not make me even angrier.

I was sincerely touched by his words, and even though I was still steaming a little, it wasn't enough to make the whistle sound. I nodded and then I laid my head back in the crevice that's his neck.

After a few more minutes – or hours – of cuddling, I started yawning. He noticed, of course, and he sat us both up gently.

Once I was sitting on my own, he got up and walked away from me. He heard the little sniffle I had and looked back at my curious, yet sad eyes and smiled. "I'm just getting you a shirt. I'll be right back." He walked into his closet and returned a few minutes later to find a very stripped me.

By the time he had gotten back with one of his button down shirts, I was in my panties and my panties alone. I figured I would feel embarrassed when he stopped breathing and looked up and down my almost naked body, pausing at the area above my bellybutton for just a second too long. I didn't mind though. I was secretly glad that he liked what he saw.

He walked over to me and helped me into his shirt, brushing almost every bit of bare skin showing, purposely shying away from one area in particular.

Once I was dressed, and he was undressed –he only wore his boxers to bed with me because he knew how comforting I found his skin to be when it was against mine– he had us on the bed in a flash.

His body was completely still under mine, and I waited to see if something was wrong, but he had those perfect eyes hidden behind those perfect eyelids.

When he did open his eyes, I saw a passion beyond compare burning right through me, and in a blindingly fast movement he was on top of me, kissing me so hard I thought that I should push away, just out of habit, but it felt so good to be this connected with his lips, so I held nothing back. I entwined my hands around his neck, and I felt his hands gently grab my butt, so that we were pushing against each other's bodies to the point where I thought bones were breaking and hearts were flattening.

Literally ten minutes later, we stopped; it had gotten a little too intense, almost to the point where we were falling off the bed.

The minute my body was on his again, I could feel every muscle in me relax. Once we were both situated, Edward pulled the beautiful comforter over our bodies, and wrapped his arms around my back, just a little lower than my waist. My bare legs met the part of his legs that were bare, and the opening in the neck of his shirt allowed the base of my neck to touch his chest and little waves of shock convulsed through my body, awakening fears and dreams and longings, but even more important, my passion and lust and love for Edward. I decided then to kiss him again, but just a small peck on the cheek. I then proceeded to lay my head against in the dip of his neck one more time.

"Edward?" I asked hopefully. He knew what I wanted.

"Go ahead, Bella, I know that you're dying to ask questions. I owe you that much," he said bitterly, but not towards me.

"Who exactly is Alexander?"

"I should've known that would be your first question. Well, my Bella, Alexander is one of the vampires that we stayed with in Alaska. He's about as old as Alice… I don't know what else to say, what would you like to know about him, lovely?" he asked me a soothing and gentle voice.

"Why are you guys fighting, or mad, or whatever?" I tried to snuggle closer to him but to no avail. Our bodies were already crushed together.

"That's a long story, are you sure you can stay awake, or would you rather me tell you in the morning?" he waited patiently for my response. I finally decided what I wanted.

"I'll wait for morning, but I still have other questions?" I asked, wanting to know if I could continue.

"Of course, Bella. Anything to make my angel happy," he said, his hands getting a little tighter – but it didn't hurt – and I blushed like crazy.

"What's his gift?" I immediately felt him tense up and then I heard his unnecessary breathing become erratic.

"Well, he…he…can make… he can make people fall… in love with him," he stuttered out, and his eyes became worried, but he awaited my response to this information. It took a moment for that to lock into a chamber of my mind to be examined.

"Wh-what do you mean?" my voice was scared, and I clutched my angel to me tighter.

"If he wants someone, then he can have them. All he has to do is say something to you with his mind and you're pulled in. It's like he can open up his mind so that people can hear him, and then he says something like "I like your shoes" and you are immediately drawn to him. He doesn't even have to say something that pertains to you, it's just that once you're chosen, you're drawn to him; until he decides that he doesn't need you or want you anymore. He didn't used to use his gift like he does now. Now he will use it against anyone if he wants anything from you. After his true love was killed, he doesn't think that anyone has the right to be in love and happy. It's sick and twisted the way he abuses his gift…Bella?" I had become frozen to him. I wasn't breathing, my heart was going into overtime, I was about to pass out.

"Bella, are you okay? Bella! Breathe, you have to breathe, sweetie. Bella?" his voice toned down a bit once I had started to regulate my breathing and my heartbeat.

"Hang on…I'm fine, really. Just a little shocked. That's all," I assured him, and my bodily functions became normal again. My once frigid body had become loose and warm again, due to blood flow. "Is that why you guys are fighting?" I asked, trying to distract him.

"Yes, but that's enough questioning for now. You need to get some sleep. Holy crap, it's already 3:30 in the morning. I swear, if you wake up before noon you're going back to sleep," his voice whispered in my ear.

"Edward, I love you, so much."

"I love you too, Bella. Do you want to stay in this position, or would you rather us switch roles?" he asked, knowing how comforting it was to me to have his body pressing down on mine while I tried to sleep. It made me feel enclosed, and safe, like nothing could puncture my serenity.

"Yes, please, will you?" my voice was feeble and weak; I was more tired than I thought I was.

"Of course I will. I would do absolutely anything for my little angel," he smiled as blood rushed up to my cheeks.

Next moment he was climbing on me gently. I unbuttoned my/his shirt to halfway so that my chest was touching his and then he wrapped me in his arms once again and hummed me to sleep with a new tune. This one was softer, slower, and more intricate than the last, but both were equally beautiful and equally mine.

"I love you," we both whispered in unison. And thin I drifted off to sleep in his arms – and shirt.

-------------

"Good morning beautiful," Edward voice was in my ear, he was lying by my side, with his arms hanging protectively over my waist, clasping me to his strong, muscled stomach.

"Ugh. What time is it?" my voice was soft, and I had my arms covering my face, trying to block out the small amount of light that escaped the never-ending clouds of Forks and forced their way through the giant window. It must be after noon. Unless Edward is going back on his word, which never happens.

"It's only a little after one, would you like to go back to sleep, honey?" he asked, using a low and gentle voice. He kissed the back of my neck and then groaned.

I flipped over and looked at him.

"What's wrong? Do I need to move?" I was about to move when there was a knock on the door.

"Emmett, go away, we're not ready yet," Edward yelled at the door.

"C'mon, Edward, she's awake, and we all know you're awake. Besides, Carlisle sent me, he said he can't wait much longer," Emmett's voice whined through the door.

"Fine. We'll be down in a minute. Just let us get some different clothes on," Edward turned to me and I gave him a sly smile. He smiled back, looking a little staggered, and then nodded. I climbed on top of him and brought his face to mine. He did the rest.

His left hand pressed against the small of my back, near my butt, and his right arm draped around my neck and his hand was rubbing my upper back. My hands were somewhat similarly placed – my left hand on the back of his neck, and my right hand was on his butt, however, he didn't seem to mind. Our pelvic bones were clashing against each other's. His lips pressed against mine and made my breathing become jagged and irregular.

Only when my – his – shirt was off did I say something. "Edward, I think we should stop. I don't want to push you."

His voice was low and passionate when he responded, "I'm okay, Bella, really. I'd never hurt you. I won't push you either, so if **you **want to stop, then we will," he said faster than usual between our kisses. I shook my head and started kissing him again. He smiled and repeated my actions.

Then he groaned again and said towards the door, "No Emmett, you ca-" but he was cut off by the door banging open.

Edward hastily pulled the covers up over us, before Emmett could see my naked back and me straddling my angel's hips.

"Oh, I see. That's why you don't want to come down," my face was redder than it has ever been. "I'll just tell Carlisle to go ahead to the hospital. We can show her later," and with that, he smiled and closed the door behind him.

I climbed off Edward, feeling my skin burning with embarrassment. Emmett was like my older brother, and he just saw me practically naked on top of my boyfriend, kissing. I ignored Edward when he groaned and tried to bring me back to him.

"I'll get ready, I'm sorry," my voice and body were weak and longing to return to Edward as I pulled on his shirt.

"Don't be, and what are you getting ready for?" he pulled me back to him, I only had his shirt and my panties on, not to mention not one of the buttons were clasped.

"Well, aren't we doing something today?" I asked, straddling his hips and sitting up, so neither of us would be tempted. I was trying, and not succeeding, to button up some of the little white circles. I'm sure him seeing my bare naked breasts wasn't helping the whole 'him wanting to drink my blood' thing.

"Later, but I sort of wanted to continue our previous activity for a while. You know, before we were rudely interrupted. And you can see your surprise later today or tomorrow," there was a twinkle in his eyes, but then he unfastened the few buttons I had managed to close, and then took off the shirt completely.

Then we did exactly what he wanted.

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_**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**_


	6. A Mere Human's Bridled Fear

D.C.-I don't own Twilight.

**_I AM SO SORRY FOR HOW LONG IT HAS TAKEN ME. I KNOW I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN OVER A MONTH, BUT LIFE GOT IN THE WAY, AND I KOW THAT'S NOT AN EXCUSE, OR AT LEAST NOT A VERY GOOD ONE, BUT, I JUST WANTED TO THANK ALL MY REVIEWERS AND I HOPE YOU ALL LOVE THIS CHAPTER. BYES FOR NOW. DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!_**

A/N - Hi everyone. Thanks for reviewing. **THEY DIDN'T HAVE SEX! **Just thought I should clear that up. And I would like to thank my beta, Dragon 3712, completely awesome; therefore, that is why she is a major part of the story. Sorry for the mix up. Now, onto the story.

One more thing, if you don't like horses, or can't tolerate them, then this chapter is going to be rough for you to read, as are the next few chapters. Thanks, love you all. Byes.

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"What would you like to eat?" Edward asked me, leading me to their fairly new refrigerator, now packed with food for me to eat in the upcoming week.

"Um, I don't know. Surprise me," my voice and whole body was weak from hunger and from hyperventilating upstairs in his – our – room.

"So, will you tell me now why you guys are in a fight?" I asked as casually as I could manage.

"Not now, Bella, but later, I promise you." And he then started to work on fixing my food.

Half an hour later, Edward brought me a great looking chicken dish with bread, pasta, and potatoes. Practically a Thanksgiving Dinner, without the turkey.

"Wow, Edward, why did you cook so much?" I couldn't hide the curiosity in my voice as I shoved a bite of tender chicken in my mouth.

"Well, I hate it when you say "surprise me"; I never know what you want, or how much you want. So I made everything. If you don't like it, you don't have to eat it. I'd understand," he said, his voice sounded so sad. I scowled at him, and popped more of my delicious lunch in my mouth. Wait, not lunch, dinner. We had been upstairs for the better part of the afternoon.

"Edward, it's almost five o' clock. I can't believe we were upstairs that long," I stated, while a smile crept onto my face.

"Really, I can't believe we were only up there for that little. I guess time flies when you're having fun," his sly smile made me smirk. I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised when he came up behind me, and started kissing my neck, making it impossible for me to swallow food.

"Edward, stop! I'm trying to eat my food before it gets cold," I whined, inwardly hoping that he wouldn't stop. I loved his caresses.

"Hurry up, Carlisle and Esme will be home soon, and they have something to show us, well, you, since I already know," he smiled, and I glared at him futilely. His smile just broadened, and I stuffed the rest of those little tastes of heaven in my mouth, swallowing hard, and then gulping down water.

"All done, where are they?" I asked, not moments after the front door closed, almost inaudibly to my ears.

"Esme, Carlisle!" Edward said clearly. In only a second, both of Edward's 'parents' were standing in front of us, with huge smiles plastered on their faces.

"What's going on?" my voice was shaky, but this time in anticipation.

"Nothing bad, sweetheart, but they have a surprise for you. And I wasn't even in on this one," Edward nuzzled my neck with his head, sending pleasurable chills down my back.

"What's going on? You all know that I don't like surprises," I said, trying to be stern, but they could all sense the excitement in my voice, so their smiles grew even bigger, almost to the point where it looked like the smile would engulf their entire face.

"Bella, if you will come with us, we can show you your surprise. It's just outside, in the backyard," Esme said with a soft smile, and then she and Carlisle headed towards the front door, with Edward and me in tow.

Once we were in the front yard, they all went right, and we filed into the backyard, and I couldn't stop the gasp that escaped my mouth.

Directly in front of me was a huge stone building, with an angled roof, and one huge door with a tan "X" splitting the beautiful pale stones into equal quadrants. When I kept staring at the wonderful piece of architecture in front of me, Esme stepped back so that we were side by side, and Edward slid his arm mechanically around my petite waist.

"Bella, are you alright?" this was Carlisle, clearly worried by my staggered breathing and awed silence.

"D-did you guys buy me a stable?" I asked, disbelief coloring my face and thickening my raspy voice.

"Of course we didn't Bella, we built it for you. If you want to open the doors, you can see the horses.

I couldn't believe that my adopted family built me a horse stable, and even bought me horses. I was still trying to figure out how they figured out my secret adoration of horses, when Edward started walking me towards the oversized door.

Inside, there were ten stalls that would even make PETA take a double take. Each cubicle was big enough for at least three horses and their brothers. In the left hand corner closest to me, there was a washing station, complete with a "T Post" and two hoses. On my right, there was a small alcove with all the tack and to the right of the partition there was the supply of soap, sponges, buckets, and so many more combs and brushes. Behind the stalls, which were in the center of the stable, with five on each side and a cobblestone ground in the middle, was the hay and oats, bedding, and a refrigerator which I'm guessing held carrots, apples, and other treats.

Edward, Carlisle, and Esme chuckled quietly to themselves at my awed expression, and Edward was by my side in an instant, already wiping away the stray tears that escaped my surprised eyes.

"I cannot believe you built me the most wonderful stable ever and bought me horses. But how did you guys even know that I love horses?" I was surprised, to say the least, at my ability to not stutter and make out a somewhat coherent question.

"Well, sweetheart, we called your father and your mother, and it just makes sense that someone like you would love horses, with as clumsy as you are," Esme said, in a tone that could melt metal, with a smile gently place on her lips.

By this moment in time, the tears were flowing freely and Edward didn't try to wipe them away, he could tell that I was so euphoric that the tears stopped me from fainting due the amount of endorphins in my bloodstream at this moment. It almost seemed like I had just gotten done running a marathon.

"Can I give you guys a hug?" I asked meekly, already moving towards Esme with my arms eagle spread.

She eagerly fell into my embrace and soothed me. Next Carlisle came up and gave me a hug that should've crushed my bones. Only then did I realize just how much I was loved by the Cullens.

"Can we all go for a ride?" I asked after I returned to Edward's side, and finished the flow of happy tears.

"Well, Bella, here's the deal with the horses. There are ten stalls as you can tell, and we have eight horses in here, but only seven of them can be ridden right now," Carlisle started to explain, and then he rested an arm on my shoulder and guided me to the first stall on the right. "This is Jacarga, she's four," I saw the most beautiful sorrel quarter horse I've ever seen. Jacarga stood at about 15.1 hands, maybe 15.3, and her mane reached just longer than the bottom of her beautifully smooth neck, and her tail was long and thin, resting no more than an inch above the floor of the stall.

"She's beautiful," I gushed, and I cupped my hand and rested it a few inches from her nose. She nudged her way into my hand, and I stroked under her jaw. After a few minutes of bonding with Jacarga, Carlisle led me to the stall next to her.

"Bella, this is Opague. She's also four, and she's pregnant, she's one of the horses we cannot ride right now, she's a few months into the pregnancy, and she's not due for at least another two months, maybe shorter," Carlisle explained as I looked at a breathtaking mulberry Andalusian. Unlike Jacarga, she was big and had a lot of meat to her, and her belly was round and massive. She was thicker while Jacarga was lean and muscled to perfection, ready to run and play. Again, I cupped my hand and reached out to her, and I waited for her to trust me with her face, and when she finally did, there was a huge smile plastered on my face, for the sole reason of how quickly she trusted me. Most pregnant horses would shy away from contact with any other being, especially a human that they do not know. I stroked her crest, being very cautious with her, so as not to startle her and risk harm to the foal, herself or myself. Only when I thought of that did I look around for Edward. He was leaning against the first stall on the left and was beaming, Esme beside him, stroking another horse.

"So, where's the stud that got her pregnant," I asked Carlisle, and I heard Edward choke on a laugh that he was trying to hold back.

"Well, he's an Andalusian stallion, and we have him here, but we don't keep him in the same stable as this one, if we mixed all the stallions with the mares… well, you know what would happen," I heard Esme say, and I could almost feel the smile that was on Edward's perfect face, and I heard Carlisle give an appreciative chuckle.

"Would you like to see the rest of the horses, Bella?" Carlisle asked me quickly.

"Yeah, sure…wait! What do you mean all the stallions? There are more? You have more horses, and stallions at that?" I asked, incredulous.

"Well, we have three stallions, Red Devil, he's the father, Taters, he's a mustang, only three years, and Dragon, who's also a mustang, but he's more wild an untamed. Dragon's a monster. He would even be some competition for Emmett, and I honestly don't know which one would be more harmed. And just for the record, you will never be riding Dragon, not as long as I live," Edward spoke for the first time since we entered my haven. I looked back at him and noticed a huge grin on his face that let me know he was imagining Emmett and Dragon against each other, and I scowled at how overprotective he was being, but secretly I was flattered.

I gaped at him, but then returned my attention to the horses at hand, when I felt Carlisle shift beside me, and I walked on to the next horse, a beautiful Friesian.

For the next hour, it went on like that; Carlisle showed me all the mares in my stable.

Then he took me out the back door that I didn't even know was in existence. What I saw there made me fall to the ground, or the awaiting hands of my angel. In front of me I saw a huge cut out that was at least half a mile wide and reached farther back than my mind could calculate, in the forest that created a natural wall around the Cullen house.

On the left side of the clearing, there was another stable that was at least four times bigger. This time I didn't have to be invited to look, I walked forward, taking Esme, Carlisle, Edward, and the newly added Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie by surprise, and pushed open the door. In front of me there was a big arena with removable barrels placed in a triangular shape and a metal fence that made an oval shape, clearly showing where the arena was. To the right of the arena, there were six stalls, and only three of them were occupied.

In the first stall, was who I assumed to be Red Devil. He was a very beautiful black stallion, and his eyes were wild and untrusting as I stared at his muscled body. You could almost feel the power radiating off his being when you looked at his perfectly sculpted neck and strong hindquarters. I tried my best to not look disappointed when he turned his head away from me and continued to eat his hay.

This time I didn't have to be asked to move on. I also didn't have to be told that the magnificent beast I was looking at was Dragon. Dragon was at least 17 hands. I quickly recalled the normal height for wild mustangs, and 17 hands isn't in the normal 13.2 to 15 hands range. His coat was thick and chestnut in color with a long mane and tail that looked like strands of silk, and his left hind foot was socked, while his front right had a coronet. At first, I was frightened by his sheer size and muscular build, but that quickly went away when I noticed how gentle yet wild and untamable his dark brown eyes were. Edward decided that at that moment he would come over to me, and he tried to slither his hand around my waist.

Apparently, that didn't sit too well with Dragon. He broke the lead rope that connected his halter with a metal ring in the stall, and he reared up on his hind legs.

The tip of his nose reached the top of the stalls, which looked to be at least ten feet tall. Edward was startled by his behavior and obviously doesn't know much about horses, for he then proceeded to push me behind him, where I promptly landed on my butt, which caused an eruption of snorts, whinnies, neighs, and warnings coming from Dragon. Then, as I got up from my sitting position, I noticed that all the Cullens were surrounding the stall, trying to get him to calm down, but no such luck prevailed for my vampiric friends.

"Okay, you guys. You have to move," I said, walking over to the stall. When I reached a hand out to the clasp that kept the door shut, Edward grabbed my hand which startled me, causing a slight jump to occur, which caused more menacing noises to spew from the magnificent being in front of me. This time, however, Dragon returned to standing on all fours, but tried to break down the door I was still trying to open.

"Edward, you have to move. Trust me, I can handle this," I said, giving him my warmest smile, and causing him to take an intake of breath.

He didn't respond with words, but he did move out of the way by an inch. I shot him a glare, but didn't abuse what little privilege I was allowed.

I gently opened the door, and Dragon immediately stopped trying to kill Edward.

I scratched at his poll till he was completely calmed down, with ears gently alert, nostrils deflated, and eyes no longer bulging out of his sockets. He started to nod his head up and down, showing me he was pleased, and then he did the unexpected. He swiftly bent his front legs and arched his neck so that his chin was in contact with his chest, and lowered his body to the ground, resembling a man bowing.

I started to tear up at the gesture. Horses, wild horses especially, don't usually bow down to any other creature, except for possibly the alpha horse in their herd, but almost never to an outside species. When the awed family behind me noticed the tears streaming down my face, they all started to advance, forgetting the massive amount of muscle next to me.

Dragon up righted himself as soon as he noticed the small distance between us and the Cullens shrinking. He stepped in front of me, and curled his body around mine, creating a half circle of unbreakable, shielding muscle.

"Bella, what's wrong? Do you not like the surprise? Did he hurt you?" Alice's soft voice asked me, raising a few octaves near the end of her interrogation.

"No, Alice, I'm actually perfect right now. You guys don't know too much about horses do you?" I asked, tears wiped dry.

After seven simultaneous agreements, I started to educate the beautiful vampires standing before Dragon, for I could not see them through my protector.

"Okay, so here's the deal with horses. In order to understand them, you have to understand their history. By nature, horses are very dependant on one another. They crave company, and they need to be socialized. Horses are also very faithful friends, and when they bond, I mean truly bond, which is rare, then that bond is eternal. Also, with a bond like that, when one of the two bonded die, the other becomes very depressed, and usually dies from depression, because they will deprive themselves of food, water, exercise, and social experiences," I explained, almost seeing the realization dawn on their faces, as they could see where I was leading.

"When Dragon reared up, it was in response to Edward touching me. Dragon felt his claim on me was threatened. Apparently, he claimed me the second he saw me, which is very odd. And then when Edward pushed me behind him, Dragon could no longer see me, but he could hear my body hit the ground, which was when he really started to get wild. And then, when I started to open the door, I was startled by Edward's grabbing me, and I jumped a little, which to a horse, means you are scared, and might run away, which was incredibly stupid of me, and that's when Dragon started to butt at the door, which was the closest thing he could connect with Edward, other than me, and he would never hurt me on purpose.

"Once I was inside the stall, he immediately calmed down, and I relaxed him by scratching his poll, which is behind the ears, on the top on the neck," I answered the unasked question. "Then, he bowed to me. I won't be able to fully explain the concept of a wild horse bowing to a human, but I can try. Horses, by nature, show levels of ranking, usually by who leads the pack, who fights, who has the most foals, and, in the wild, by giving the alpha horse a gesture, which is usually lying down and curling their neck around their body. Only when a horse bows, are you bonded for life, with no exception, and no other will be able to harm the bonded, in this case, me, while the two are together.

"By him bowing to me, that is his promise to keep me safe at all costs, it's also him showing me how much he trusts me, and the pain he is willing to go through for me. If you noticed how he didn't bend his back legs, only his front, which is one of the most uncomfortable positions for a horse, as it pulls at all the leg muscles. It is also very painful for a horse to bend their knees and bow on the ground, because it forces all their weight to the knees. And by tucking his neck, that was his way of telling me that he trusts me enough to expose his backside, without having to look at me. It was foolish of me to start to cry, but I couldn't help it, that's the greatest sign of affection," I finished, still looking at Dragon's side. He still wouldn't move.

"Bella, how do you get away from him?" Edward asked, annoyance smothering his voice.

"Um, I haven't figured that part out yet. I don't think I can until he thinks I'll be okay. In order for him to leave my side, you guys have to gain his trust. Like I said, he loves me to the extent of possession, and he won't let me be with someone he doesn't trust," I finished, rather sheepishly. It's somewhat odd for me to be explaining someone's possessive love for me.

"Oh, you mean like how Edward is with you, Bella?" came Emmett's smooth reply, I laughed and then I heard a thump. At this, I guessed Edward hit Emmett, which didn't settle too well with Dragon.

"Edward, you have to calm down. Okay, I'm going to tell you guys what to do. Esme, step forward, and reach a hand out to him, but don't try to touch him until he gives you the okay. I don't know when or what that will be, but you will know. As soon as he does let you touch him, start scratching his poll until he doesn't look at you anymore. Next, Carlisle do the same, and then Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, Emmett, and Edward follow in that order. It may take a while, but you have to be patient. Understand?" I asked in a rushed voice.

I heard a few mumbles and decided they understood. Then I waited while the wild animal sheltering from my "family" learned to trust the few people I loved and held dear.

After about half an hour, I was getting restless, so I asked, "Who is going right now?"

"Emmett just finished, now it's Edward's turn," Alice sounded apprehensive.

"Okay, Edward, you seem to be the one he really doesn't like," I heard my angel snort, "so just take it easy, and if he pulls back, or tries to hurt you, move away," I heard him sigh, but he complied nonetheless. I saw Dragon shift his head, and then I saw him lift his hind leg closest to me, and stomp it back down, trying to get rid of flies. After another ten minutes, I heard the stable door open, and Dragon moved slightly so I could run past him and into the awaiting arms of my angel. I had a huge smile plastered to my face at the sight of seven astonished faces.

"Bella, how did you know all that?" Jasper asked me, while Alice stepped forward to stroke Dragon's face.

"When I lived in Phoenix, I loved horses, but rarely got to see them, because of school and money and stuff like that. But I've always loved horses, especially Friesians. They are my favorite breed, but I honestly do love all horses, and I know quite a bit about them, but that there, that was something I came up with, spur-of-the-moment-type thing. I wasn't sure it would work, but knowing what I do know about Dragon made me think he is totally based on trust, which is understandable, considering he's a _wild_ mustang, that just made sense to me," I explained, burying my head into Edward's chest.

"Do we have a Friesian here?" Edward asked me, getting an idea.

"Yes, we do. Twieveluv is a Friesian. You remember, right, the all black one with the wavy tail and mane, and soft, black eyes?" I questioned, thinking back. Realization dawned on his face, and he gave me a quick nod.

"So, are we going to ride, or not?" I was amazed to hear Rosalie speak.

"_You_ want to ride?" I asked, astonished.

"Of course, I love horses, Bella," she directed me. The great, wonderful, beautiful, breath-taking _Rosalie_ actually directed something towards me that wasn't an icy glare of death. Today was a good day.

"Let's go," I said. "Everyone's coming right?" I asked, looking to Esme and Carlisle for reassurance that the two people who deserved to ride the horses the most were going.

I got seven eager nods.

"Okay, so I guess I'm going to ride Dragon," Edward started to oppose, but I stopped him, "Edward, considering the last hour, do you really think I would opt to ride someone other than Dragon, and if I'm recalling correctly, you said I would never get to ride him, as long as you are _alive_, right?" I asked incredulously, with a small smirk on my face.

He gave up quickly, and then I started to ask important questions.

"Okay, so who's ridden a horse before?" I asked.

Only Rosalie, Emmett, and Esme raised their hands.

"Okay, so, are you guys any good?"

"Well, Rose and I went on our…third honeymoon, I think, third or second," Emmett contemplated until Rosalie half-heartedly smacked him.

"It was our third, and we're pretty good," Rosalie said to me, and then she went on to scold Emmett for forgetting. I tried to block out the scorn, but I heard bit's and pieces like: "…night…", "…hotel room…", "…remember that was when we made…" and so on.

"I used to ride my horse, Gypsy, to school every day," Esme said, "and I remember it pretty well, but I don't remember how to tack up," she admitted sheepishly.

I smiled, and then thought for a minute.

"Okay, let me tack up Dragon, and then we can go back to the mare barn and find you guys the right horses. Okay?" I asked.

"Edward, would you like to help me get the tack out of the storage room?" I said as seductively as I could.

I saw him take a noticeable gulp, and I smiled to myself. Good job, Bella, I patted myself on the back.

I saw Emmett and Alice smile sly grins, and then Edward and I went to the tack room.

"Okay, so what exactly do we need to have?" Edwards asked me, looking lost as he stared at all the stirrups, halters, lead ropes, chaps, reins, bits and bridles, English and Western saddles, saddle blankets, polisher, rags, picks, brushes, and buckets.

"Okay, since most of you guys don't know how to ride very well, we will ride Western style, so we need…" I fumbled with the saddles until I found seven that I though would fit the Cullens, and handed them to Edward.

"Bella, where is your saddle?" Edward asked me, as he held the seven saddles in one arm, like they weighed absolutely nothing at all.

"I'm getting it, Edward. Just take those out and I will be out in a minute with the rest of the tack, okay?" I said, while subconsciously sniffing the air. It smelled like leather, metal, and manure. I smiled as I remembered the first time I ever rode a horse. I fell in love with this smell even before I climbed onto Sammy's back. Sammy was a ten year old pinto, and she was the first pony I had ever seen.

I decided nostalgia was highly overrated, so I focused on the task at hand.

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I emerged from the tack room about five minutes later, carrying at least fifty pounds of blankets and my own saddle. I still had to get the reins and bridles and bits.

As soon as Emmett saw me heading head first for the ground, I felt two strong arms encircle my waist, and looked into the eyes of _Rosalie_.

As soon as she helped me, she let me go that much faster. I quickly stumbled to regain my balance, and then I stared at her, with awe written all over my face.

As soon as I was completely balanced, or as balanced as nature would allow, Rosalie stalked away from me, like nothing had happened, like she didn't just help me prevent breaking a few bones, and loosing even more self esteem.

Edward looked just as astonished, and Emmett was beaming with a smile that would make you think he was enjoying pleasure for the first time ever, when the way he kissed Rosalie could prove you wrong in one second flat.

"Rosal-" I started, to be interrupted by her menacing glance.

"Look, _Bella_," she spat my name out like it was a diseased rag, "don't think of that as something special. Okay? I didn't do it for you, I just really don't want to go to the hospital again, and pretend like I care when you break your nose or something. That was incredibly stupid of you to try to carry all that by yourself. But, then again, what should I expect from a mere human, right? Also, I did it because we are right next to Dragon, and I don't want him to go ballistic again because you are being stupid. Now, are we going riding or now?" she growled. I started crying right then and there, turning away from that awful being that I used to consider a goddess.

"Rosalie, goddamn it. I don't honestly understand you sometimes. I love you with all my heart, but at this particular moment in time, I don't really like you. Bella didn't do anything to you, EVER! You know what, I don't want to look at you, and you really are disgusting right now!" Emmett yelled at her astonished face. I could tell that he meant everything he was saying, and that made me appreciate my big brother figure even more. Sometime during their display, Edward walked over to behind me, and was trying to turn me around to face him, but I didn't want him to see my tear-streaked face.

Finally, I turned around when I felt Edward stop touching me, to see what was wrong, and instead I saw Emmett looking down at me, anger smothering his beautiful eyes and strong jaw. Before I knew what I was doing, I enveloped Emmett in a hug and squeezed as hard as I could, muttering a weak "thanks". I felt him tense up and I tried to draw back, but he held me in a big bear hug, lifting me off my feet, and chuckling to himself. He set me down when Edward growled at us, and stalked over to glare at Emmett, and wrap his arm protectively over my slightly exposed chest.

"Stop what you are thinking, Emmett, and let's go for a ride, before I tear you to pieces," Edward warned, with no slither of teasing in his menacing voice.

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Everyone was saddled up, with Alice on Jacarga, Jasper on Twieveluv, our Friesian, Rosalie on the palomino Arab, Incarnation, Carlisle on Sadie-Leona, our other quarter horse, Emmett on Susaki, our palomino Peruvian Paso, Esme on Ceana, the dun Criollo, Edward on Kremmy, our beautiful bay Lusitano, and I, of course, was riding Dragon, with a very comfortable seat, and loose reins. Everyone was atop their companions, except for Edward and me. Considering Dragon's height, I couldn't get on him without help, but first, I had to help everyone else put the right foot in the right stirrup, and teach them how to navigate, be gentle with the reins, and not to kick too hard. After everyone was situated, Edward helped me up, well, just lifted me up, to Dragon's back, and then climbed on Kremmy. After everyone was comfortable, we began.

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"Edward, why did you growl earlier at Emmett?" I asked when we were alone. Everyone went on different trails, with Alice and Jasper on the trail to our right, Esme and Carlisle to our left, and Emmett to Alice's right, and Rosalie trailing behind him, both of them still not talking.

"He was just thinking something that didn't set too well with me while he was hugging you," Edward said, I quickly looked over, to make sure he wasn't angry, and instead I saw a smile and his eyes on mine also.

"It seems to me like you guys were made for each other," he commented on Dragon and me together. I gave up on holding the reins, and instead directed him only with my feet.

"Yeah, I think we were. I have my true love vampire, and my true love mustang. What else could an ordinary girl want?" I joked, patting Dragon's massive shoulder, and throwing a sideways smile at Edward, who was laughing silently to himself.

After he didn't stop for a few minutes, I was starting to think he was breaking down, so I whispered "whoa" to Dragon, and looked at Edward with an inquiring look.

"Alice just had a vision of Mike spilling his milk all over Jessica on Thursday, and she blows up at him, because it's a shirt that she just bought or something, and it will shrink in the wash," he explained, trying to seize the laughing.

I joined in for a little while, and then it died down as the moment was lost.

"Hey, Edward?" I asked tentatively.

"Yes, love?" he looked at me, smiling, while Kremmy started to pick up pace as we were reaching a log.

"First off, unless you want to jump, gain control of Kremmy," I stifled a laugh, as Dragon and I went to full gallop, and easily cleared the log. I looked back, and Edward was trying to jump also, but Kremmy wasn't too excited about giving that much energy.

"Okay, so…jumping isn't my thing, but back to you. You said "first off" which means there was something else you wanted to ask me, what is it?" he halted Kremmy, so I did the same with Dragon after I backed him up till we were alongside Edward and Kremmy.

"Actually, I have a few questions…" I looked down at the saddle, and was startled when next second I was in the air. Dragon reared up, neighing out warnings and furiously trying to get Edward away from me. Apparently, Edward dismounted, and tried to get me down as well, but Dragon didn't like that idea, so he instead tried to kill Edward.

"Whoa, boy. Whoa. It's okay, it's okay. It's just me, whoa. Hmmm hm hmmmm, hmm umm humhumm," I soothed him, while gently stroking his neck, and rubbing circles on his belly with my feet.

After he calmed down, I also dismounted and sat next to Edward on the ground, with our backs resting against a tree, and the horses grazing in front of us, with Dragon shooting anxious glances our way every few minutes.

"Okay, so first off, why did you guys get me horses, that has to be really rough for you, isn't it?" I asked, leaning my head on his shoulder, looking longingly at his lips.

"It's not too hard, because horse blood doesn't smell as appetizing. Plus, it's good control for Jasper to try. Since they still have blood, they sill temp him, but not too much, and Jasper, well the whole family for that matter, knows how much you love the horses, and Jasper would probably kill himself if he did something to jeopardize your fine relationship with him," he said. He started trailing kisses along my neck, and I moaned as I felt something go through me that I've never felt before, and Edward started to go for my lips, and I opened them automatically, waiting for contact with his cool tongue. Once I felt the coolness slither its way into my mouth, I couldn't stop the next groan, and apparently Edward couldn't either. His hands found their way up my shirt to rest right above my hips, and I somehow ended up on his lap, with my legs sprawled out and my arms around Edward's neck, trying to milk it for all it was worth.

"Excuse me?" I heard Alice's soft voice, and I could immediately feel my cheeks flush red with embarrassment as I hung my head.

"Um, yeah, well…the rest of us are heading back, but you guys should stay here. Have fun, I guess. Bye Bella, bye Edward," and with that she fluttered away, and left me there tomato red and Edward muttering things that sounded like "damn Alice" and "perfect timing."

"I'm sorry," I said, and looked at his eyes again.

"Beautiful, you didn't do anything wrong, I just wasn't concentrating. So I didn't hear her approach, which she finds very funny. Now, before we continue with our "fun", what else did you have to ask me?" he looked at me intently, knowing what was coming.

"Tell me why."

He sighed, and started.

"Alexander's gift is to make people fall in love with him, and sometimes other people, like Cupid. It doesn't matter who or what you are. He could make the damn president fall in love with him in a matter of two minutes. He can turn married women divorced; successful men gay, young children into his sex toys, he can do it to anyone. And he can also make vampires, werewolves, and such fall in love with him.

"A few years ago, back in, oh, '92, I think, something happened. There was a human girl that was in love with him, but he loved someone else, another human, her name was Belliana. Once the first girl found out that he was in love with Bellian, she killed the one girl Alexander had ever loved. I know what you are thinking, that a girl won't go that far, and kill someone else because the guy she loves loves someone else. But, she was pulled in, and couldn't let go. Alexander didn't mean to pull her in, but he was still trying to gain complete control of his gift, and now you know how well that went. The only reason Alexander is so good at repressing the need to drink human blood is because he denied her death for so long, and he deprived himself of human blood, and only drank animal blood, he wouldn't even go near humans, because to him, it was and still is all their faults that his love died," he finished on a sad note.

"I don't understand, how do you fit in to that equation?" I asked, looking back at Dragon, and smiling as he stopped eating to check on me again, meeting my eyes.

"I still haven't figured that part out yet, but I think it has something to do with brotherhood. Alexander and I were great friends, we were like brothers. His family and my family were inseparable, especially the two of us. He loves music and books, just like me. He had the collection of books, and I had the collection of music. He also made me a better vampire. Even though I'm older than him in a sense, I still respected him greatly, like with Carlisle. Alexander has never slipped, at least not to my knowledge, and for that he deserves greater respect than any other vampire I know, other than Carlisle.

"When I was with Alexander, I would always try my best to not slip, or even think about human blood. Also, he was this way before he met Belliana. Anyway, back to the story, I think he feels that when Belliana died, and we left, I just left him there to rot, not caring, and just forgetting the _bond_ we had. Like I said, we were really close, almost to the point where people thought we were gay." We both laughed at that. If there's one thing I know, it's that none of the Cullen men are gay.

"But it worries me that he's here, because I don't know what he wants, but I think it has something to do with you. I don't want to lose you, Bella. I don't want him to take you away from me, I don't want you to love him," his anguished eyes held no trace of a glimmer or a shine, and I knew now that we were meant to be.

"We better get back, they are missing us," he whispered in my ear, and I giggled as his cool breath filled my ears with a tingling sensation.

"Okay. Could you help me on Dragon?" I asked, blushing furiously.

"Well, I don't think you are going to need my help, look," he pointed at Dragon who had lain down on the grass, allowing me to get on his back without a hoist.

I laughed to myself, and then looked down at Dragon's saddle, and I could tell how loved I was, and it felt good.

"Edward, do you want to ride with me, I don't think Dragon will mind?" I asked, looking over at my angel's face.

"Bella, I would love to, but what about Kremmy?" he looked back at the gorgeous bay picking at the luscious green grass, not paying any mind to Edward, Dragon, and me.

"I can tie his lead rope to my saddle horn, and he will follow us," I replied, already dismounting, and grabbing the lead rope that I'm glad we packed.

Edward was already mounted, and Dragon was still waiting for me to climb on, so I quickly stuck my feet in the stirrups, while Edward snaked his arms around my waist, and I gave a slight kick with my feet, and we were off, with the reins loosely hanging in my right hand, while my left covered Edward's hands that met at my stomach.

Kremmy didn't have a problem keeping up with us, and would run ahead till he reached the rope's slack, and then prance around, waiting for us to catch up, he was clearly enjoying the slight drizzle, and the freedom of running without someone on his back.

"Edward, why does Rosalie hate me?" I leaned back in the saddle as we started going down a hill.

"Bella, I've told you before. She doesn't hate you, she is just jealous of you, and she doesn't trust you yet," he leaned back with me, kissing my neck and rubbing my back.

"Edward, was I hallucinating? Because I distinctly remember you being in the stable with me when she said all that. I don't think I imagined you were there," I said, knowing that he had some explaining to do.

"I don't know what was going on with Rosalie right then, she wasn't herself. Even her mind was a little out of whack. Just don't sweat it, lovely," he started rubbing my back again, kissing every inch of skin that he touched with his light hands.

I desperately wanted to believe him, but I didn't. I also didn't push the matter any further.

The rain started to pick up, so I nudged a little harder, and we started back towards the house at fast trot, my body going up and down in the saddle like bouncy ball. I started to laugh, and by the time we were back at the stable, I was completely soaked, and I was laughing uncontrollably.

"Edward, can you take off Kremmy's saddle, and then I'll give them both a quick wash and brush, then we can go inside.

Edward took off both Kremmy's and Dragon's saddle and saddle blankets, while I gently removed their bridles.

-------------

"Did you guys all take off the horses's tack?" I asked the room full of Cullens, ignoring Rosalie completely.

"Yes, we did, and we washed and brushed them, and Rosalie, Emmett, and I picked their feet," Esme replied.

"Thanks Emmett, Esme, Rose," I said, spitefully at the end.

Edward was talking to Carlisle in a hushed voice, while I was thinking about all my horses.

"Edward?"

"Yes, Bella," he took his attention away from Carlisle, and looked at me, with a smile.

"I think I'm going to go back out to the mare stable, and get Jacarga, and do some barrels. Okay? You can come out when you're done talking to Carlisle. Is that okay?" I gave him my best smile.

"Actually, I am done, so let's go," he replied, picking me up, and running me outside.

-------------

"Edward, come on, climb on, she's not going to do anything," I said, trying to get Edward to do barrels with me.

"No, that's okay, you do it, I'll just watch," his voice was somewhat scared.

"Edward, are you scared of Jacarga?"

"No, I'm not, but I just prefer to not spin around barrels on a horse's back, and instead, I like to watch you move gracefully around the barrels, with your hair flying behind you," he caused me to blush again.

"Fine."

"Ah, Edward, glad I found you. It's nice to see you again, Bella. I don't think we've been fully introduced. I am Alexander." I looked back at the beautiful vampire standing just five yards away from the fence surrounding the arena, and I fainted, not remembering hitting the ground, but I did remember hearing Edward scream out my name and Dragon somehow breaking the stable door, and watching Alexander hit the ground. Then it all faded away, and I was left to reside in my personal fear until I could awake from this hellhole.

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So? What did you all think? Don't even mention the whole it took me a month and a half to get this chapter up, and I'm sorry it sucks so much, but I couldn't write anything else. And I was trying to find a way to thank some of my reviewers, without just saying thank you. So, yeah…Don't forget to REVIEW!

My music playlist:

Until The Day I die – Story of the Year

We Will Rock You – Queen

Tennessee – The Wreckers

Fighter – Christina Aguilera

Lose Yourself – Eminem

Animal I have Become – Three Days Grace

Stronger – Trust Company

Headstrong – Trapt

Unholy Confessions – Avenged Sevenfold

Any Way You Want It – Journey

Fake – Shinedown

I Alone – Live

Save Me – Unwritten Law

Scars – Papa Roach

Halo – Haley James Scott (from One Tree Hill) – full version

Vindicated – Dashboard Confessional

High – Jimmy's Chicken Shack

Wanted Dead or Alive – Chris Daughtry version – American Idol – Full Version

I Dare You – Shinedown

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And the horses are based on:

Jacarga – Jacarga

Twieveluv – Twieveluv

Opaque – Opaque

Incarnation – IncarnationOfPureBeauty

Sadie-Leona – Sadie-Leona

Red Devil – Hellish Red Devil

Susaki – Suma Susaki

Dragon – Dragon3712

Kremmy – Kremmy

Ceana – Ceana Sorcha

Taters – Taters-Kay

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I mean it. If you guys don't review, then you will get another chapter that sucks just as much as this one did. Byes for now. Don't forget to review.


	7. DISCLAIMER FOR ALL CHAPTERS

Disclaimer for all chapters that are up, will be up, and are even being considered to be put up:

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**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

**I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**


	8. Painful Conversation pt 1

Here's the next chapter. Sorry the last chapter sucked. But that whole scene was based on a real event that happened to me, even the whole barreling thing, and falling off because I was startled, and even the whole ride with someone you love, but it didn't end up so well for me in the end. Sorry this is so short. Don't forget to review. Oh, this chapter is a little crude.

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When my eyes decided to take on the world, I noticed I wasn't where I would usually be. I didn't feel Edward's strong arms around my body, and I didn't feel the comfort of a bed.

That's when I heard it. Dragon.

That's when I saw it. Dragon.

That's when I felt it. Dragon.

Dragon was curled around my body, creating a wall around me, and protecting me from the harshness of the surrounding reality I'm forced to cope with every day. He was munching on some hay, looking intently at my once motionless form.

I looked over toward the new stall door, and saw four figures, and I heard voices raising octaves, and then shooting right back down when Edward, my angel, would tell them that if I woke up due to them, there would be hell to pay, and apparently, hell isn't cheap.

I tried to get up, but I felt weak all over. Thankfully, Dragon's neck was wrapped around my body as best as he could, and I grabbed onto his mane before I could land on the ground with a thump.

Edward, having the supersonic hearing he was lucky enough to posses, rushed over to the hinged door, and ignored the warning sounds emanating from my other protective beast, and rushed to my side.

He wrapped his strong arms around me and held me there while I wrapped my legs around his waist, and hoisted myself onto his lap. He stood up, carrying me like I was a baby, and to him I was. I was his baby, and you would wish for death if you fucked with me.

"Bella! God, never do that again, you had me scared shitless," Alice startled me by swearing, and then she came up to me and hesitated between giving me a hug and slapping some sense into me. She decided that a hug was the smarter choice, for the sole reason that the two beings that would rip her to shreds if the time called for it where no more than twenty feet away, and staring at me intently.

"Bella, we are going to go inside now, will you be okay?" Emmett asked me, looking scared. I couldn't understand why he was scared, but then I realized Emmett was my older brother, in the most literal sense without the blood relation. He was as much my brother as Alice was my sister, and Jasper my other brother. I used to consider Rosalie my sister, until she did the only thing that could make me hate you, she made me cry, and not normal tears, tears where I couldn't even look Edward in the eyes, because I would still see the golden orbs that she so unfortunately possessed.

I didn't even think about what I was doing, which was probably Jasper's doing, but I suddenly rushed over to Emmett, which was hard, considering I had little energy left, but I managed and then I catapulted into him, knocking him backwards a few inches, and I cried onto his shoulder.

"I love you Emmett, I really do," I heard him take an intake of breath, as Edward started over, but then he relaxed when he saw Edward smiling and nodding for him to go ahead and comfort me. I would have to thank Edward later for this. I must have stayed in his arms for a good ten minutes, until I was done crying my eyes out. Edward finally had to pry me off him, and I instead cuddled into his chest. I was sitting on his left hip, with my arms around his neck, my legs circling his waist, and my head on his arm, resting there, but trying to not cry some more. I am so tired of causing my true family so much trouble.

It was then that I decided to leave for a little while, and see if things improve for the Cullen family.

"Edward, I have to tell y-," I was stopped short by Alice gasping for air, and Jasper, who was calmly leaning against the barn walls, rushed over to her aid, and stood in front of her, gripping her shoulders firmly, and talking to her sweetly.

"Bella, you need to come with me, right now," Alice said, and for the first time, I could see disappointment in her eyes, and it was directed at me. She grabbed my arm, rather roughly, when I didn't respond, and a low growl came from Edward.

"Oh, shut up right now Edward. And stop trying to break into my head, if you don't I will tell Bella something you never wanted her to know," she said darkly, with no trace of amusement present in her voice. "All three of you," she directed at the men, "go inside now, and I swear if you listen in on our conversation, you will all wish that you were killed, this is between Bella and I, so go," when they didn't respond, and just looked at her with appraising eyes, she said something so low, and so fast, I'm not even sure the guys could hear it, but they did, and they all rushed from the barn like it was on fire.

Once Alice was satisfied with our situation, she turned on me.

"Bella, what the hell are you thinking? One moment you're hugging Emmett, then you're thinking about leaving us, leaving _Edward_?" she emphasized his name, and looked at me with a disgusted gleam in her eyes.

"Alice, it's not like that, I swear," I pleaded with her.

"Well, then Bella, tell me what it is like, I mean, you're not making sense right now. Do you know what this family has been through for you? And I'm not saying that to make you feel bad, because we would all do it again, and willingly. But, we have been through a lot for you, especially Edward. How can you even think about leaving him now, when he needs you the most?" she said, her voice a deadly whisper.

"Alice, you have to see things from my point of view. Your family has gone through too much for me. First with me almost killing myself in front of Edward, then with James, and now with Alexander. If I left, then nothing like that would ever happen again. Why don't you understand that this is what you guys need, then maybe Rosalie will smile again, and you guys won't have to be under constant guard in your own home. I'm not saying that I will leave for forever, but just long enough for Edward to forget about me and fall in love with a vampire. Someone who could be his equal, someone who could love him fully without him having to run away from her for periods of time because he almost drinks her dry. Alice, you don't understand, Edward and the rest of you will be able to live like normal vampires, without having to worry about protecting me, or trying not to kill me yourselves. Jasper wouldn't have to fight the urge to drink me dry, Emmett and Rosalie could be happy again, without him trying to defend me to her, and you all would forget about me in a few years. It's what's right, after all, Edward's always telling me that I should leave to protect myself, and all that shit, so, I'm listening," I was crying hysterically now, my voice was shrill, and I was trembling with fear because what I said made more and more sense the more I thought about it. But the fact of Edward being with someone else, and being intimate with someone else, broke me down to the point where I was clinging to Alice's arm like it was my lifesaver in an ocean of loneliness and heartache, with the waves crashing down on my shoulders, burdening me with the regrets of my decision, and pushing me down into the dark abyss where no one could save me.

"Bella, I need you to calm down. You know full and well that Edward would never be able to love another person or vampire for the rest of eternity if you left him. I know what you are saying, and I can understand why you would want to leave, but Bella, if you truly love us all, especially Edward, then you would stop thinking about leaving us all. Bella, you don't understand, we all love you!" she screamed at me, while holding my head to her chest, forcing me to calm down, and breath reasonable breaths.

"But, Alexander…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say. Behind me, I could hear Dragon start to get anxious as my breath hitched, and my heart started beating in overtime.

"Bella, just go inside. You'll see what I mean. I'm coming in a minute. I just need to calm Dragon down," she wouldn't even look at me.

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"A…Alexan…Alexander?" I asked, when I saw his form sitting on the couch, with Edward and Emmett standing protectively around me, but not to his notice, I assumed, for he held a simple smile on his face.

"Hello, Bella. I am very sorry we haven't been properly introduced. I understand that you have a horrible first and second impression of me, but I am also hoping that you might let me impress you with a good third?" he looked up at me with those gorgeous golden orbs, and I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement. I snuggled closer to Edward who was standing next to me, beaming his head off, and I gave a smirking Emmett a thankful smile.

"But, but you are the bad guy, I'm supposed to hate you," God my head hurt. I could feel a throbbing pain in my sinuses, and I really wanted to get to bed, but there was a dangerous vampire in front of me, and now I was totally lost.

A loud laugh forced its way up Alexander's throat, and filled the room with a hearty, plentiful sound that left my ears ringing when he regained his composed face and posture.

"Please, excuse my outburst. Edward and Emmett both informed me of your lack of tactfulness," I gave the two vampires standing next to me harsh glares, "but I wasn't expecting you to be cute while doing it also," at this Edward growled, and Emmett advanced.

"Wait!" I said loudly, and Emmett stopped dead in his tracks, "I'm utterly confused. I thought you were bad, and I wasn't supposed to be near you, and you were fighting my boyfriend," then everything came rushing back, and I pulled away from Edward and advanced to Alexander myself.

"Oh, that's right. Now I remember. Let's see… You did something that had Edward silent on the couch in his room, with me holding him to my chest, and him not telling me what was wrong, you came into our bedroom, well Edward's bedroom, and you challenged Edward by coming towards me, bad idea buddy, then you proceeded to hurt my angel, making him scream, and twist in agony, making me watch the whole thing, another bad idea. Oh, I forgot to ask, did I hurt you with that heel, because if I did, then I'm not sorry, and if I didn't, do you mind letting me do it again, and this time you could pretend like it hurt for my benefit and confidence, thanks, that would be great. Now, back to why I should hate you. You were another cause of Rosalie hating me, because of you, she and Carlisle had to come home early from hunting, and I don't need any more reason for her to hate me, that fact was clearly displayed today. Hmmm, let's see. You showed up while I was riding Jacarga, and caused me to faint, which could have caused me to die, due to the fact that I would've hit the ground, freaked out my horse, then possibly could've been stepped on, and killed. And if I died, then I would be taken away from Edward, and I would also be breaking my promise to him about forever. I don't like to break my promises. And now, here you sit, and I totally just made a fool of myself, but it's your entire fault. Did I forget anything Edward? Emmett?" I looked back at the two stricken faces of my angelic boyfriend, and my beastly brother.

"Uh, umm… no, Bella, I think you got it all," Emmett stuttered, looking at me with adoration and bemusement.

Edward looked angry about something, and I didn't know if it was because I just severely insulted his friend, or if it is some other opposing factor that has yet to come to my attention.

"Edward?" Emmett also noticed the death glare and he gave me an inquisitive look, but when I shrugged my shoulders, Emmett just looked even more confused.

"Edward, what's wrong?" my voice apparently pulled him out of his reverie.

"Bella, why were you planning on leaving me?" his face went from displaying anger, to sadness, to pain, and then everything just spilled out, the same way it did with Alice, only this time, I didn't want to give into my tears, and I tried to stay strong for Emmett and Alexander, especially since the reasons pertained to both of them in a minimal way.

He listened intently as I explained my reasoning, and the way I felt about James, and when I got to explaining how the situation just worsened due to Alexander's presence, Edward shot him an unfathomable look that I wasn't even sure I didn't make up. Emmett just looked at me in disgust and disappointment when I explained that if I left, then Rosalie would be happy again, which, in turn, will allow Emmett and the rest of the household to be free and happy again, and not have to worry about restraining their thirst because the silly human was in the house. Once I started to talk about how much this family has been through for me, Edward cut in, with a look so sad, so desperate, that I was sent into a hell that I created and I felt the pain that I knew would come when I further explained why I needed to leave.

"Bell, how dare you bring that up? I don't know about you, but I'm in love with you. And to me, love is where you are willing to give up everything you have for the other person, and to protect them, even if that means hurting yourself in the process. I would gladly hunt down someone again to protect you if it meant that you and I could love each other again. Why don't you understand that?" he looked at me in an exasperated way, leaving me to contemplate while he waited for my answer.

"Edward, that's exactly it. I am willing to kill my personal happiness for your safety and your family's safety. And how dare _you _think that I don't love you. I love you more than I do myself, and I am willing to give up my life for you, and live with you for eternity. An eternity where you and I don't have to hold back the way we feel, where we don't have to watch every little thing we do. An eternity where you and I can stay up all night long, and watch the stars and where I can stay in bed with you all day long without my human minutes. I am willing to give up my mom, Charlie, Phil, Jess and Mike, Angela, and all the other people that have apparent roles in my life. I am willing to give up eating food, and sleeping and dreaming, and blushing, and fainting at your touch. I am willing to give up everything I used to find a comfort. All for you and your family. Yet, you say that I don't love you, and that you are willing to hurt yourself for me. I would do the same thing if one of you damn vampires would let me. No one seems to understand the reasons for my being a vampire could affect all of you in positive ways. Emmett and I could go hunting together, Alice and I could go shopping and I would be her personal Barbie, Rosalie and I could at least be in the same room, without me breaking down, and her turning her lovely face into a mask of hatred and pain. I could go to college repeatedly and learn about the best things from the best people. Jasper and I could talk about books, and I could teach Esme how to cook and Carlisle and I could have a good relationship, one like his and Alice's. None of you seem to understand just how badly I want to be changed. Not even you, Edward, and you and I are supposed to be joined at the hip, you are supposed to understand me, and support me, like I am supposed to do you. And don't you dare start getting mad that I'm bring up you changing me," I shrieked exasperatedly. Then I turned my attention to Emmett. "And you. What on earth is wrong with you?"

"Bella, first off, this isn't like you. I have never seen you raise your voice, let alone to Edward. And I still don't understand why you would want to leave our family. Why do you think that none of us would go through that again if it meant keeping you safe? You know what? Just come and talk to me when you are calmed down, and on your own doing," with that he walked up the stairs slowly. I felt the weight of what he said come crashing down on me, yet I didn't feel the least bit repentant. At least not for what I was saying to Edward.

"Alexander, I am terribly sorry for my outburst, but I guess now I just need to have a horrid second and we will be tied," I directed the still shocked vampire sitting on the couch.

"Alexander, do you mind giving us a minute alone? You can go in my room, you know where it is. I have an update selection," Edward politely asked, referring to his music collection.

The terrible beauty left the room with a nod, leaving my angel and me alone to discuss, or rather argue. Or so I thought.

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A/N - - I know, such a bad ending and all that crap. You guys will all have to ignore the mistakes, because my beta wasn't on, and she hasn't been able to check it for me, so…yeah. When she does, I will probable replace this chapter with the correct one. And this is a two part chapter, but I don't really feel like writing the next chapter right now, because it will most likely either be REALLY long, or REALLY short. So, yeah… Don't forget to review, because I know all of you will… Right? Also, I am leaving for about a week and a half, that's another reason I'm updating with a chapter so short, so that you guys won't have to wait that long. So am I off the hook? Byes for now.

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	9. Painful Conversation pt 2

Please don't hate me.

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Edward grabbed me by the waist, and he sat down, with me in front of him, on the coffee table.

I knew he was upset with me, but even at our worst, we were almost always touching, he must be extremely upset.

Almost as if he could read my thoughts, he took my petite hands in his massive ones, and then looked at me with those smoldering caramel-colored eyes.

"Bella, earlier when you were explaining to our entire family the way a horse's mind works, we were all stunned. You taught us something that we had no previous knowledge of. We learned something today, and that is very rare. When you have been around for decades, and can have the privilege of going to college and high school repeatedly, after about fifty years or so, you have learned mostly anything you could ever need or want to know. It felt really good to learn something today, really good. I know that this doesn't really have much to do with what we are talking about, but I thought you should know just how important that was to us. All of us. So that is one reason why I have come to my decision. Another could be that fine argument you just presented to three very intimidating vampires. Again, off topic, well, not really, but sort of…" Edward started to stutter, and slur his words, which came as an initial shock, but was quickly discarded.

I took his left cheek in my left hand, after a few moments of trying to wiggle it free from his grasp. I looked back into his eyes, and gave him my warmest smile.

"Edward, what decision have you made?"

He slid off the couch so he could situate himself in between my legs that were limply resting in a very un-lady like fashion. He then pulled me down onto his lap and whispered in the gentlest, most soothing, yet most bone-chilling voice I had ever heard:

"I have decided to change you."

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I know, horrible. I am the most rotten person in the world. I don't update for over a month and when I do, it's not even one full page long. But, for a twist, I can get the next chapter out in the next few days, maybe even tomorrow night, but I need you guys to answer one question for me:

Do you want me to go into detail of her transformation, or can I please just skip it and start off when she wakes up three days later? Of course, I will include the bite, the telling to the family and Alexander, etc. But, if I can skip it, that would be wonderful, b/c so many people have done it, and it just seems kind of worn out. Byes for now. Don't forget to review.

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	10. Blood

I woke up with a sudden start. I felt an icy calmness rush through my body. I opened my eyes and saw dark brown circles looming over me.

"Edward?" I was surprised to hear my voice; it sounded high pitched, and reminded me of someone who should sing all day long, never stopping, so the whole world could hear the beautiful voice.

"Bella? You're awake!" Edward pulled my scarcely dressed body to his, and clung tight.

"Of course I'm awake. Why wouldn't I be?" I asked in bewilderment, my arms snaking their way around his neck to hug him back.

As soon as I did this, he pulled away, and looked at me with horror in his eyes.

"Tha-… that's impossible," Edward said, his face showing utter disbelief.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with me?"

"Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Emmett! I need you now," Edward said in an unnaturally loud voice, and in less than a second, there were five new vampires standing before me. Rosalie was missing, of course.

"Edward, what's wro-" Jasper started, and was then cut off. He suddenly lunged at me, and Edward tried to restrain him, but somehow Jasper broke through and bit me under my right jawbone.

I heard a snarl, and then I saw Alice, Emmett and Esme restraining Edward, and Carlisle was pinning Jasper to the wall.

"What the…" I trailed off, feeling the pricked skin.

It took forty six minutes until Edward was released and Jasper was given a little more leeway.

"Jasper, I'm going to kill you, I swear I will," Edward whispered with utmost venom.

"Edward…I'm…so-…sorry. I did…I didn't mean…t…to," Jasper struggled.

I cut in with confusion.

"What the hell happened? Why were you surprised when I woke up? Jasper, why did you bite me? And Edward, you will not be killing anyone, especially Jasper, as long as you want to kiss me and hold me. I swear to God, you are both acting like children. Jasper, no blood, no foul, I'm a vampire now, and Edward, I'm okay. You don't need to avenge my murder or anything like that? Clear?" I said that last bit with sarcasm, and waited until Edward nodded and stood by me, and Jasper was released and nodded also.

"Bella, I am so sorry, but your blood…it's so different, it's still there…" Jasper said, sorrow coating his voice, and shielding his eyes.

"Jasper, I'm fine, I just want to know what's going on…"

"Bella, you were asleep, if you want to call it that, for six days. And now that you're awake, your blood, it's so appealing, it's like you kept it all, and the scent, it's intensified, a lot," Alice responded, not looking me directly in the eyes, but holding on to Jasper for comfort.

"Bella, it's like you are still human, but you look like a vampire," Esme said soothingly, holding her breath.

"But do you have the traits of a vampire?" Edward asked me, nuzzling my neck, also not breathing.

"Well, let's see…" and then I suddenly flipped Edward onto his back on the bed, and held his hands down.

He struggled against my grasp, and a wicked smile crossed my face.

"Apparently," I started, "I do."

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Don't worry, that was just added to give you guys something while I work on my nothing. Alexander is still here, but he's out hunting. Sorry this chapter sucks, but I feel really bad that I hadn't updated. My dog died a couple weeks ago, and my friends aren't really acting like friends right now. So…sorry. Please review….byes for now.

fickshonal

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	11. Gift?

Everyone left the room, giving us our privacy.

Edward smiled, and stayed under me, kissing me like he's never kissed me.

I pulled him up by his shirt and whispered in his ear, "Catch me if you can." And then I took off, racing out the door, past Alice and Rosalie bickering over me, and down the stairs, catching Esme and Carlisle by surprise. I muttered a quick hello to them, and then raced around the back of the house the barn.

I opened the door, and smelt Alexander there. I immediately turned around, trying to race back outside, but Edward was there, right behind me.

"I caught you, what do I win?" he asked in his most seductive voice.

"You'll see later, but now, I want to figure out this whole blood thing," and I grabbed his hand and led him back into the house, calling after me for Alexander to follow.

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"What do you mean she's retained all her blood?" Emmett asked, not breathing.

"I mean, that she seems to not have lost any blood at all through the transformation. It's like she gained our senses, but kept her humanity in tact also," Carlisle said, getting impatient.

"No, that can't be it," I butted in, "because I don't feel warm, I'm not hungry or thirsty at all, I don't feel tired, and I outran Edward. I know that because I'm new, I am stronger than most, but still. It's like, I don't know. It's like…I don't feel strong. Does that make sense?" I asked no one in particular.

"No," Emmett said bluntly. "That doesn't make any sense whatsoever."

"Maybe it has something to do with her gift," Alice suggested, also holding her breath.

I could tell by her eyes that she missed Jasper. He went out to hunt with Alexander, so neither of them would try to bite me.

"How?" Esme inquired. "How does that have anything to with her gift? If it's not humanity, then what else could cause her to keep all her blood like this? I know that all new vampires keep their blood for the first year, that's why her eyes are red, but the blood doesn't have a scent like this. Hers is still strong, like it's pulsing through her, but she doesn't have a heartbeat, and her skin is as pale as ours. This doesn't make sense," she concluded, a confused expression lighting her angelic face.

Great, just great, there's always something wrong with me. I can never just be normal. Nope, not ever.

"Bella, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you," said a voice I wasn't expecting.

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I know it's short, and you guys hate me for it. But at least I'm updating faster, right? Hopefully the next one will be longer. But, no promises. Sorry. Anyway, please REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!! REVIEW!


	12. World Series

WE WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MY CARDINALS ARE AMAZING. WANRIGHT, YOU ARE SO AMAZING.

CONGRATS TO ECKSTEIN FOR MVP, YOU DID IT SHORTIE.

byes for now.

fickshonal


	13. Beauty or Pain

I abruptly turned around, to face the velvety voice of Jasper. Alice flung herself off the couch and into his awaiting arms.

"What are you doing back?" Edward asked with casualty, whilst looking at me somewhat upset. His dark eyes were clouded, and his body was tense. I shied away from him, trying to make it easier for him than it had to be.

"Whoa, Bella!" Alexander exclaimed. I guess this was the first time he got a good look at the new me. Thinking of which, I ran out of the room and up the stairs to the nearest room with a mirror, which just so happened to be Rosalie and Emmett's room. I backtracked, and then flew down the hall to a bathroom.

I flipped the switch on with ease, and then turned it right back off. The girl in the mirror looking back out at me was not Isabella Marie Swan. She was different, ugly somehow, yet horribly beautiful. Her lips were distorted, full and ruddy, with pale cheeks set high on her cheek bones. Her eyes were a deep red, and her face as an entirety was angular, with a softly rounded chin. She was ugly because she wasn't Isabella Marie Swan; she was grossly beautiful for the same reason. I flipped the light switch back on, and as I was staring at myself, I heard Carlisle knock on the door.

I sidestepped so that he could come in. He looked at me with sad eyes; he knew what I was thinking. I wasn't the only one that thought I was oddly ugly and beautiful at the same time.

"Bella, I'm sorry," he said, his tone was bleak and understanding.

"Why are you sorry, it's not your fault that I'm ugly?"

I heard a resounding roar echo through the house. I quickly identified it as Edward's, and flew out of the bathroom and down the stairs. I was in front of him before he was even done.

"Edward! Edward, what's wrong?" I grabbed his face in my hands and made him look ate me, but I saw him wince. I quickly dropped my hands, and ran away from him and the rest of the room. Once I was outside, I didn't stop running. I took off through the woods, not hearing anything except for my steady breath.

The ground was disappearing underneath my feet faster than it should have. I knew that in the few minutes I was running, I had covered miles. I faintly heard someone, or many someone's calling my name, but I kept running.

I thought back to the pain on his face. It was caused by one or more of three possible reasons. One-he can't stand the sight of my face; and/or two-I hurt him when I grabbed him with my new strength; and/or three-the weirdly intoxicating scent I put off was too much for him. Whichever reason, I was screwed. The worst possible thought came into my mind: what if Edward and the rest of the Cullens plus Alexander came after me? What would I do then? How could I explain my sudden outburst? Or worse, what if he/they didn't come after me?

I couldn't stand the thought of Edward not wanting me anymore. Or, what if he did want Bella, just not this one?

I sank to the ground, not even knowing where I was. I heard the sound of twigs snapping, and suddenly shot up, knowing that none of the Cullens or Alexander would make any noise, which meant that something else was headed my way. I looked to my left, but saw nothing, and when I looked to my right, it was just as forlorn.

I listened again, and the footsteps sounded like they were receding.

I didn't know if I should try and find out whom the person was, or if I should stay where I was. Or, should I just run? I was in favor of the latter.

I stood up, ready to run, when I caught the scent of my company. I almost laughed out loud. It was merely a deer, out for a walk.

I started to turn away from it, and head west, when I smelled new scents. And they weren't unknown to me, but I couldn't place it.

"Bella?" I turned my head towards the voice that yelled my name. It wasn't who I was expecting.

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I fell to the ground, but never hit it. Someone caught my fall. I didn't black out, but I also wasn't fully aware of what was going on.

"L…l…Laurent? What…what are you doing here?" I asked in astonishment. He smiled down at me with a semi-endearing grin. I also noticed his eyes gloss over, his nose finally smelling my new scent. His eyes turned black, and he had the intent to kill me, if possible.

I was frozen in fear, forgetting my new strength, and forgetting the other familiar smells lingering around me. I screamed out the first name that came to mind. "ALEXANDER!"


	14. Pain

I added pictures of the horses to my profile. GO CHECK IT OUT, IF YOU WANT TO. Don't forget to REVIEW! Enjoy.

As soon as the name escaped my mouth, there was silence. The world seemed to collapse at my feet. I felt the fear subside, being overridden with intense guilt and a will to die. I knew that I couldn't live with myself after this day; I didn't want to live with myself.

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I became aware of a familiar face holding me; it just was not the face that I wanted to see. Alexander was holding me to his chest, running, rather slowly it seemed.

"Where am I?" I asked, my voice sounding weak, my body feeling strong.

"Bella, just be quiet. There's a slight problem," he said in a calm voice, his eyes narrowing straight ahead of me. He switched to carrying me bridal style.

"Where's Edward? Why didn't he come?" my voice started to rise, panic sinking into my core.

"You didn't want him to come, and that hurt him, more than you can realize," his voice and eyes were disapproving my prior behavior. I saw in his eyes a deep sadness. He was a good friend of Edward's, way back. This goes back to the bros. before hoes, and I felt even worse. Now Alexander was disappointed, too.

"I didn't think that he would want to come. He didn't chase after me. And you were the only one left to call," I mumbled, feeling my self-induced disappointment embed itself into my thoughts.

Alexander looked down at me with a questioning look, but said nothing more, his body becoming one with the wind that whipped at my face. In a matter of minutes, we were back at the Cullens's house. I felt the dread of my actions creeping up my spine, turning my legs to jelly. I quickly got out of Alexander's arms, hoping that Edward wouldn't be upset with another man holding me.

Before I could even make one step towards the front door, I fell to the ground, Alexander whipping down to catch me, but I signaled to him to just let me fall.

He bent down to me, but I told him to just go to the barn, and saddle up Dragon for me. He left me without another word.

I laid there, on the ground, taking in the intense smell of the dirt and grass and rain.

"Bella! What's wrong?" Alice rushed down the front steps to me. She picked me up, swatting at my hand when I tried to tell her to go back inside.

"Don't you dare try to tell me what to do," she said with a humorous tone, "I have tenure over you, you know?" I weakly smiled up at her, and let her brush the dirt off of me.

"Where is….Edward?" I asked, hoping that he didn't know about Laurent.

"He…uh, went out to find Laurent. You probably won't see him for a while." My face fell, and I didn't even notice Dragon racing toward me, fully tacked up. Alexander was walking coolly behind him, averting his gaze.

"Alice, would you like to go riding with me?" I asked rather sheepishly, hoping that she would explain to me what had happened after I called for Alexander.

"There's something that I want to tell you," I implied heavily. Hoping she might catch on.

"Oh, yah…sure, I had a vision about this. Let's go," she looked behind her nervously, "actually, will you go saddle a horse for me, and I'll go inform the family," she didn't wait for my response, she just bounced away, heading inside after a still solemn Alexander.

As I saddled Jacarga, the beautiful sorrel quarter horse Alice rode before, I wondered what exactly she was telling, or "informing" the family of.

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"Alice, I think that I may know what my gift is…" I waited patiently, hoping that I could catch my breath, and stop feeling guilty about Edward.

"Well, what is it?" she asked me, not looking at my face, but instead at Dragon, who was flicking his head from left to right. I followed her smile and gaze, and laughed out loud.

Dragon looked like he was rocking out to music. I patted his right shoulder, and gave him a nudge with my right foot, and pulled him to the left with the reins. He made a sharp left turn, and then I halted him, stopping at the same spot where Edward and I dismounted on our first day out riding. Alice, already dismounted, sat down on the sodden ground, leaning against a tree. I followed suit and plopped down, gracefully I might add.

"Well, I think…I think that I have retained all my human blood, with an intensified scent, because that was my biggest trait. Whenever a vampire would come into close enough proximity, they would smell me and thirst for my blood, especially in Edward's case," I choked at saying his name, Alice and Dragon both noticed, but my horse just carried on grazing, however, Alice looked at me quizzically. "Well, anyway…when Laurent had me, his eyes glossed over so fast, but that's just the thing, they glossed over. Before they got black. I know it doesn't seem weird to you, but it did to me, and it got me thinking," I stopped and peered up through the canopy of trees, trying to call Edward to me, trying to make him understand. Alice sat and waited patiently for me to continue, but I suddenly felt bad. I should have picked up on it earlier.

I was suddenly overcome with guilt for taking Alice away from Jasper. She needed him as much as I needed Edward. I can't live without Edward, and she can't live without Jasper. How selfish am I? I looked over at her. She was looking wistfully at the general direction of the house, a fake smile on her face. But, when looked closely at, her eyes held the same pain and longing I couldn't conceal.

As the guilt pressed down on my shoulders and suffocated my now dead lungs, Alice shot up, startling Jacarga.

I followed suit, but stood up less abruptly, stepping towards her.

"Alice? I…I'm so sor-" I started, but got cut off by her raising her little hands at me, signaling silence.

"Bella, don't worry about Jazz and me right now. I…I just had a vision. Of…of Edward and you. We need to go back home, now," her voice was smothered with urgency, willing me to listen. I nodded, and we mounted our horses.

With a gentle, yet sharp nudge, we took off, Dragon and Jacarga running faster than before.

We were at the barn in a matter of minutes. I halted Dragon and slid off easily, Alice was a step ahead.

She started back inside, going to tell the others. I stayed with the horses, putting the tack away and getting them ready for their stalls, trying to listen to the hushed voices coming from inside the house. I really wanted to hear about it, but I had a duty to my horses also.

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Two baths, two brushings, two pickings, and two pats later I headed up to the house.

When I reached the steps, I heard soft voices coming from inside the house, each as easy to place as the next.

"Well, should we leave?" I heard Esme's voice whisper.

"Yes, just not yet, we should wait a while. It's just weird, don't you think?" Carlisle said, a sad undertone laying in his voice.

"Yes, it is, but it's not like it hasn't happened before. It's just, this is Edward," Esme's voice held some unknown grief. A mother's grief.

I had that deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. A sudden realization hit me. If Edward went looking for Laurent, where would they be? In my mind, I called out for Edward, willing him to come back to me, no matter how upset he was. I would let him take it out on me. _Don't take it out on Laurent. Come back to me, please, Edward. Come back. _For some reason, in the back of my mind, I thought that he could hear me. _Edward, please don't leave me. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to call out to Alexander, but I didn't want to put you through that pain._

I dropped to my knees, but someone picked me up by the shoulders.

"Alice!" I heard Jasper yell for his wife. "We need to find Edward. Right now," his voice held the same urgency that Alice's did prior. I struggled in his grasp, and he let me go, not willing to test my strength.

"No, let me. This is my fault," my voice broke, as did my heart. I couldn't help but think that I had driven him away. I had made my only love and my everything find me disgusting. I looked at Jasper's pained face, forgetting that he could feel everything I felt. I looked at him apologetically, but then I saw my face reflected in his eyes.

It was splotchy and sad. It was uglier than before, but so inhumanly beautiful that I could choke. My eyes had dark purplish circles surrounding them, and the iris was a dark burgundy. My eyelashes reached up to the sky, dark and thick, accenting the pupil. My lips were thin and narrow, forming a frown, but my cheekbones were hollow and sharp, set high on my face.

"Alice…do I look different to you?"

"Uh…yeah…I don't know what it is, but something seems different," her eyes looked me over, contemplating, searching.

"Jasper?"

"Bella, I can't answer that honestly, my outlook is biased seeing as how I can feel your emotions. Which brings me back to the matter at hand. We need to find Edward. Soon," I looked at him, trying to convey my worry.

He nodded, understanding.

"Alice, what did you see?" I looked at her, but she hung her head, and fell upon Jasper. So it was that bad?

"Okay, I don't want to tear you apart right now, so you guys stay here. Alice, if you have a vision, call me on Jasper's cell phone," Jasper handed his shiny mobile to me without a glance. He was still trying to get a handle on my emotions, and on his wife's. "I'm going to look for him," I felt my heart jump at the thought of getting to see his face.

After two nodds, I took off, following the nearest scent associated with him. Me.

As I ran from the house, I heard Jasper whisper to Alice, "Alice, she needs to find him. If she doesn't she's going to break. I've never seen her like this."

"I know. This is bad."

I lost contact with all my senses, except for smell. Right now, the most important factors in finding my only one was my sense of smell, my heart, and the will to not die on the inside until his face is the last thing engraved in my mind and heart.

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I had only been running for three minutes. That was all it took. I heard the sound of a lighter ignite, and I smelt the familiar scent of myself mixed with Edward.

I headed towards the sound and smell. My thoughts were in complete disarray. Would he still want me? I know that he loved me, but is that enough to contradict my actions?

I pushed the pain out of my head, and ran faster than before to Edward.

As I flew past, someone caught me, and wrapped their arms around my waist.

Edward.

I fell into him, and his face went right to my hair, taking in my scent. I lost control and captured his lips with mine, not letting him pull back, not opening my eyes to look at the burning heap next to me. Nothing mattered; nothing matters at much as Edward.

**I hope you guys liked this. I know, it really wasn't that good. I meant to tell you all what her gift is, because it's nothing put on yet. At least, not to my knowledge. Anyway, you know what to do.**

**REVIEW! please?**


	15. Beauty

**A continuation of the last chapter:**

Our bodies twisted together, forming one being. I knew that I could never do this again. Not being with him hurt more than my transformation. Not being with him was unbearable, and I don't know how Jasper could stand to be within a three mile radius of me. Edward. That's it, just Edward. Nothing, nothing can ever take his place or make me stop loving him and thinking of him. Nothing.

**Now onto this chapter, picks up when they get back to an EMPTY house:**

Somehow, he opened the door. My legs were still wrapped around his waist, my arms around his neck. I clutched to him as if he were my ground. Without him, I would fall down, and not land. I needed him.

I felt his lips smile against mine. Somewhere in the background, the door slammed behind us. We were already half way down the hallway to his room when I noticed the vacancy.

As I pulled away, his groan reverberated against the walls and filled me up. "Where is everybody?" my lips longed to back on his.

"Dunno." That was all I got. 'Dunno.' Men.

"Edward!" my voice was shrill.

"Bella! It doesn't matter. They are all fine. Just leave it alone.

"Fine."

Our lips caught each other again. With a soft thud, I ended up on the bed, the comforter forming around my body, soft and plush.

"By the way," his voice was gravely and thick, laden with desire and lust. "I think you are so beautiful."

**After this…I don't know what I should do. Lemon? Nah, no one would want to read that, and I don't think I'm very good at passionate scenes. So…what do you guys want next? Her gift? An explanation? Both? You all have to tell me. I have two or three different chapters racing through my head. So, what do y'all want?**


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